Trey Hendrickson ends holdout with Bengals; NFL training camp injuries piling up
This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.
π Good morning to all but especially to ...TREY HENDRICKSON AND THE CINCINNATI BENGALS
There's still no deal between Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals, but there's finally been some progress in their relationship. Maybe. Possibly.
Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last year, is planning to report to training camp today, ending his holdout and potentially extending an olive branch after months of contentiousness between him and the team.
- As I wrote when Terry McLaurin turned his holdout into a hold-in, Hendrickson reporting may or may not mean progress on reaching a contract, but it certainly changes the tenor of things. If anything, Hendrickson's presence makes him impossible to ignore.
- He'll also be in meetings and among teammates, even if he's not practicing. He also stops racking up $50,000-per-day fines for holding out.
- Plus, it's not as if things could get worse between the two sides. Hendrickson left the Cincinnati area for Florida ahead of training camp, and he and the team have gone back and forth for the last several months.
- The Bengals also had a public contract standoff with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who, in a perfect world, would line up on the opposite side of Hendrickson along the defensive line. Stewart agreed to his deal and ended his holdout July 25.
Joel Corry examined how the Bengals and Hendrickson can come to an agreement.
π Honorable mentions π€ And not such a good morning for ...NFL INJURIES
NFL injuries just keep on rolling in. With stars such as Justin Jefferson (hamstring strain), Matthew Stafford (back soreness), Joe Mixon (foot) and Tristan Wirfs (knee surgery) already sidelined, a slew of new injury news hit Tuesday:
So, which ones are ones we need to worry about, and which ones are just the bumps and bruises that come with a return to football? Tyler Sullivan's training camp injury panic meter raises some alarm bells on plenty of ailments, including ...
- Sullivan: "Jefferson panic meter: Medium π¨π¨ -- As noted by CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin, who is at Vikings training camp, Jefferson seemed to be in good spirits Monday, but he was still not participating. ... The 26-year-old does have a history of hamstring injuries, as he was limited to 10 games in 2023, and this type of injury is one that could regress in an instant. ... Until he's logged a few full-speed practices in a row, this is another injury that should be on folks' radars."
And that's not to mention that if you're the Vikings, you'd love for J.J. McCarthy and Jefferson to get as many reps as possible after McCarthy missed all of last season. I'm not too worried yet, but it's definitely not an ideal development.
π Not so honorable mentions π 10 biggest wild cards in the 2025 NFL seasonOne day away from the NFL returning -- yes, I'll maintain the Hall of Fame Game counts, and get ready for a lot of Trey Lance! -- we're breaking down Tyler's 10 biggest wild cards of the season, including ...
- Sullivan: "Michael Penix Jr. -- If you look at his numbers from his three starts at the end of last season, you won't be blown away. He completed just 58% of his passes and had a passer rating of 78.9 over that stretch. Not exactly the type of production that provides a ton of optimism, right? Well, they don't tell the entire story. Penix did seem to pass the eye test when he was under center, even if the statistical production didn't jive with that perception. So, something will need to give."
I absolutely believe in the infrastructure around Penix, both in terms of personnel (Bijan Robinson and Drake London, anyone?) and coaching. Can they break through and win the NFC South for the first time since 2016?
(WARNING: This section includes gun violence and suicide.)
New York City shooting: Gunman was targeting NFL headquartersThe gunman who killed four people and injured another in a shooting at 345 Park Avenue in New York on Monday was trying to target the NFL's headquarters, the city's mayor, Eric Adams, said.
- The shooter, identified by NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch as Shane Tamura, entered the building Monday night and started firing in the lobby. Among those killed in this episode was Didarul Islam, an off-duty NYPD officer.
- Investigators believe Tamura, who drove to New York from Las Vegas, attempted to reach the NFL offices but took the wrong elevator bank. He ended up on the 33rd floor -- NFL offices are on floors 5-8 -- and shot and killed Julia Hyman, an employee of Rudin Management. Tamura then shot and killed himself.
Adams said Tamura had a note with him stating he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked with repeated head trauma, and he wanted his brain to be studied after he died. (CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death.) In the note, Tamura, who played high school football in greater Los Angeles, blamed the NFL for concealing the dangers of playing football.
An NFL employee was seriously wounded in the attack and hospitalized in stable condition, per Adams.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote a memo to NFL employees in which he said the league offices will be closed through Friday, Aug. 8. Meanwhile, a vigil was held for the victims Tuesday evening in New York's Bryant Park.
β½ Way too early 2027 Women's World Cup Power RankingsA massive summer of international women's soccer has (mostly) come to an end after England beat Spain in penalties to win Women's Euro 2025. The celebration shows how far the women's game has come in the country, James Benge notes.
It's also been a pair of important summers for the USWNT. After a historically poor 2023 World Cup, the Stars and Stripes won gold at the 2024 Olympics and then rediscovered their stride of late, winning their last five matches and finding a ton of young talent along the way. As such, Emma Hayes' side tops Sandra Herrera's way too early 2027 Women's World Cup Power Rankings.
- Herrera: "The most recent winners of a global tournament, the entire first half of the year has been a flex for the program to show how deep it is after the 2024 Olympic gold medal win. Hayes has mastered roster pool expansion and refining team identity by prioritizing the players and the overall long-term program goals. The USWNT returned to global prominence with their top podium finish in Paris, and under Hayes, remain the gold standard for performance, attacking prowess, and now tactical ability."
Here's the top five:
- United States
- England
- Spain
- Brazil
- Germany
Sandra also has a great look at the USWNT's biggest threats.
πΊ What we're watching WednesdayβΎ Red Sox at Twins or Diamondbacks at Tigers, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network βΎ Mets at Padres, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network βΎ Rays at Yankees or Dodgers at Reds, 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network π Liberty at Lynx, 8 p.m. on ESPN βΎ Mariners at Athletics, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network
cbssports
