Ever since the draft ended, Packers fans have spent the time trying to convince themselves that the edge-rushing situation was fine. Rashan Gary's still pretty good, and you just never know what Barryn Sorrell could turn into! After an offseason full of fake rumors about trades for Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby, it's been a tough return to reality.
But, reader: we are back. And by 'we,' I mean 'delusions of grandeur based on a report that has nothing to do with the Packers.' The Maxx Crosby dream isn't dead, it just turned into a Trey Hendrickson dream. And really, isn't that just as good?
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Hendrickson and the Bengals have been at odds ever since the season ended and Cincinnati's front office decided to pay everyone but him. That, of course, led to speculation that Hendrickson could be traded – a notion that appeared even more realistic after the Bengals used their first-round pick on Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart.
Things got quiet again after the draft, but on Monday morning, a new statement from Hendrickson sent the NFL world – and more specifically, Packers Twitter – into a new-yet-also-very-familiar frenzy.
The Trey Hendrickson trade saga just got a whole lot more interesting for the Packers
"No communication has taken place between my camp and the organization post draft," Hendrickson said in a statement to Adam Schefter this morning. "The offers prior to the draft did not reflect the vision we shared and were promised last offseason if I continued to play at a high level. Coaches are aware of these past conversations. Rather than using collaboration to get us to a point to bring me home to the team, THEY are no longer communicating. I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of this situation, but that's hard to do when there is no discussion and an evident lack of interest in reaching mutual goals."
Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but that sure reads like a guy who wants out. He even capitalized random words to emphasize his displeasure and blame – that doesn't seem like something you'd do if you wanted to make amends.
To me, this reads like a guy who wants to play for the Green Bay Packers. I know there's nothing about the Packers in this statement, and there's really no reason to believe that's his motivation, but that's what it reads like. The Packers are destined to land a star pass-rusher if it's the last thing they do – and considering how much it'll probably take to land Hendrickson, it just might be.
Wildly-speculative trade rumors are back. All is right in the world again.