Coming off his fourth Pro Bowl season with the Tennessee Titans, running back Derrick Henry headed into NFL free agency last offseason. The former Alabama All-American signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
A resident of Dallas, Henry didn’t draw the attention of the Cowboys – a sore spot for the team’s fans that only grew sorer as the season progressed.
“I don’t know if he’d be having a career year in our situation,” Dallas owner Jerry Jones said in October in response to the clamber. “We don’t run that type of offense at all. Derrick Henry didn’t fit managing the (salary) cap.”
The Ravens got 1,921 rushing yards – the 11th-highest single-season total in NFL history – as well as a franchise record 18 touchdowns from the league’s seventh-highest-paid running back in 17 regular-season games, plus 270 rushing yards and three touchdowns in two playoff contests.
While Baltimore posted a 12-5 regular-season record, the Cowboys finished at 7-10 after three consecutive seasons of 12 victories annually.
During an appearance on the podcast of Micah Parsons during Super Bowl Week, Henry joked with Cowboys’ four-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher that “Jerry’s got my number blocked.
But Parsons said having Henry wouldn’t have saved Dallas’ season.
“I’m afraid Derrick Henry wouldn’t even have helped us,” Parsons said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Mad Dog Sports Radio.” “Derrick Henry should be blessed because he played with Lamar (Jackson), and he almost runs for 2,000 yards. The hypotheticals sometimes can sound pretty good, but, man, we struggled so much that I don’t even know if Derrick could have helped us. It would have been another Tennessee Titan year for him, so I’m happy he had the year he had, and deservedly so, and I think being in that system with Lamar helped him hit another gear in his career, so I think everything happens for a reason and he’s right where he belongs.”
Dallas had a 1,000-yard rusher in 2024. After the Cowboys kept Rico Dowdle from leaving in free agency last offseason, the running back recorded 1,079 yards and two touchdowns on 235 carries and caught 39 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
