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The Cincinnati Bengals — like many teams — still haven’t officially nailed down deals with free agents this summer ahead of training camp.
That includes Trae Waynes.
According to Sports Illustrated Albert Breer, Waynes moved to Cincinnati with his family thinking he’d be able to get his physical approved and put ink to paper with the Bengals.
He hasn’t seen a penny of his contract yet because the Bengals won’t allow a third-party doctor to do his physical:
“Unfortunately, after he got on the ground in Ohio, Waynes learned that the Bengals weren’t going to be allowing for the team doctor to do the physicals at his private practice, which left the 27-year-old without any other avenue but to wait for the league to reopen facilities to players. That, as most of you know, still hasn’t happened.”
Teams are 100 percent within their rights to withhold on agreed deals because they don’t want off-campus physicals for players. Roughly half the league is taking the same approach as the Bengals.
But here’s where things get tricky.
According to Breer, some teams still have fears about a season cancellation:
“In fact, one agent told me on Wednesday that a team exec leveled with him recently, and said they wouldn’t allow for a deal to be finalized because the owner feared the season could be canceled (if the pandemic worsens) and he didn’t want to pay out cash he may not be able to recoup.”
In the long run, this could end up being a non-issue as the NFL remains adamant training camp and the regular season will go off as normal.
But there are layers to consider. If Waynes isn’t training at 100 percent because he’s worried about a serious injury before he actually inks a deal and gets paid, he — and players like him — might not show up fully ready to go for camp and games during a shortened preseason. D.J. Reader, as well as rookies, could fall under the same umbrella.
Ideally, the NFL and NFLPA iron out any remaining issues and certain players are able to report in mid-July before camp starts and take care of formalities like this.
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