NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When Derrick Henry gave an impromptu speech on the field after the Titans' win over the Jaguars in the regular season finale, it felt like a goodbye. It turns out it was.
Henry agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the Ravens Tuesday, officially leaving Tennessee and the team that drafted him behind.
If you were in the stadium on Jan. 7 for that speech, you probably saw this coming. When Mike Vrabel was fired two days later, even the fans that do their reading with two-tone blue tinted spectacles had to know that the Titans were headed into a new era in which a 30-year-old running back — even one as good as Henry — probably wasn’t going to be in the plans.
General Manager Ran Carthon and new head coach Brian Callahan said the door was open for Henry’s return. But in the NFL apparently even the King has term limits.
The Titans struck a three-year, $24 million deal with former Cowboys Pro Bowl running back Tony Pollard Monday, shortly after the NFL’s free agent negotiating period began. Pollard posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Dallas the last two years, and is the type of versatile back that Callahan seems to covet in his offense.
Pollard can run it, he can catch balls out of the backfield and he can pass block. He’s in a similar mold of second-year Titans running back Tyjae Spears, and that’s a good thing in this offense. This will not be a situation where Pollard gets the first two downs and Spears comes in for third down as was so often the case when Henry was the featured back. Callahan should feel comfortable putting Pollard or Spears on the field for any down or in any situation.
Meanwhile, Henry reportedly agreed to a contract in Baltimore that has the same average per year dollar figure as Pollard’s deal but is one year shorter. The two-year contract is for $16 million but could be worth up to $20 million if Henry is able to hit his incentives.
It stands to reason he might. Compared to a Titans team that is looking to move to a more pass-first offense under Callahan, the Ravens were the NFL’s best rushing attack. Yet for some reason they handed the ball off to running backs just six times in their AFC Championship game loss against the Chiefs.
Abandoning the run in the season’s most critical moment cost them and it appears Baltimore’s determined not to let that happen again with the addition of Henry. He is the definition of a work horse back, having averaged 306 carries per season over the last five years. He was the second leading rusher in the NFL last season with 1,167 yards despite playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league.
Now he stands to benefit from playing alongside a dynamic quarterback in Lamar Jackson and with other playmakers like Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews as he looks to prove he still has plenty left in the tank after 30. At 6’3, 247 lbs. Henry is literally built differently. His offseason workouts are now legendary. If he has slowed down at all, he’s still running ahead of the pack.
The Ravens believe they are in a window to win a Super Bowl and that they may have just landed the missing piece. Henry says he wants to win more than anything else at this point in his career, and helping Baltimore get back to a Super Bowl and win it would certainly strengthen what may already be a Hall of Fame resume.
But even if one day he stands atop a podium hoisting the Lombardi trophy wearing the purple and black of the Ravens, Henry will always be known first as a Titan. Since bursting on to the scene with his first 1,000-yard season in 2018 he’s been the most prolific running back in football, rushing more times, for more yards and for more touchdowns than anyone else.
He was arguably the most electric player to ever put on a Titans uniform. Henry won two rushing titles, became the eighth running back ever to top 2,000 yards in a season in 2020 and tied Tony Dorsett’s record with a 99-yard touchdown run against the Jaguars in 2018.
Every time he touched the ball the stadium moved to the edge of their seats. It felt like we were watching history, and for eight seasons we were.
That’s why Tuesday’s news of Henry joining the Ravens hit hard for so many. It’s just hard to imagine those feelings while watching him play for another team. But like Steve McNair and Derrick Mason before him, Henry has at least one more chapter to write in his illustrious career with the Ravens.
But whenever the story ends, Henry will once again be a Titan. Perhaps the greatest of them all.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
