Defensive end Trey Hendrickson said Wednesday that he's disappointed and confused by Cincinnati Bengals executive Katie Blackburn's recent comments on his contract talks with the team, ESPN reports.

On Tuesday, at the NFL's annual meeting, Blackburn, the Bengals' executive vice president, said of Hendrickson, "I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn't think he'd be happy at. I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, and if he's not, you know, that's what holds it up sometimes. So, you know, it takes him to say yes to something, and also, we have all the respect in the world for him."

Hendrickson, who is looking for a new contract after posting 17.5 sacks each of the past two seasons, expressed his displeasure with those comments Wednesday in an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."

"First off, yesterday was April Fools' [Day] so I was traded to all 31 teams and had like a hundred different contracts. The one thing I was hoping was an April Fools' joke [was those comments]. Called my agent [Harold Lewis], found out it was not, and that was a little disappointing because the communication has been poor over the last couple of months," he said.

Hendrickson said the Bengals have not communicated with his agent directly about his contract, saying that has "been something that's been a little bit frustrating."

"We're on the D-end National Football League Street. The market value for that is going up like it did for wide receivers last year. Where I fit in that road is all up to discretion. We're willing to talk about those things. With the market continuing to go up, I'm not going to apologize for that, because I've been basically asking for the same thing every year, to be solidified as a Cincinnati Bengal for life."Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson, who is set to enter the final year of his contract, said the team told him in a meeting with his agent last year that something would get done with his contract this year, which he said was reiterated at the scouting combine in February.

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