Top potential landing spots for Titans RB Derrick Henry
Although general manager Ran Carthon stated the door is always open for a Derrick Henry return, it’s hard to see the 30-year-old running back re-signing with the Tennessee Titans now that the organization chose to move on from head coach Mike Vrabel.
Although Henry turned 30 just a few days ago, he’s seemingly dispelled any fears about him hitting the “RB cliff” most RBs do in their age-29 or 30 seasons after finishing as the NFL’s second-leading rusher (1,167 yards) behind San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey and finishing with the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (12).
Following back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Henry clearly believes he has plenty left in the tank, and he should be one of the more sought-after runners on the free-agent market. Here are the top landing spots for Henry in 2024:
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have finished as the NFL’s No. 1 rushing team in three of the last five seasons, and the last time they ranked outside of the top three in rushing was in 2017. So clearly Henry would still get plenty of touches in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson notwithstanding, the Ravens haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2019, and adding a runner of Henry’s caliber would likely reduce the amount of wear and tear on Jackson’s legs. (He hasn’t rushed for fewer than 750 yards since his rookie season in 2018.
J.K. Dobbins can’t seem to stay healthy, and Baltimore will likely move on from him in the offseason. Keaton Mitchell showed promise as a rookie before tearing his ACL, and while Gus Edwards (810 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Justice Hill (397 yards, three touchdowns) were efficient splitting the carries, none strike fear in opposing defenses. Baltimore would be even more dangerous in 2024 with Henry as its bruiser, Mitchell its speedster and Edwards/Hill as its goal-line tandem.
Buffalo Bills
At 30, it’s likely Henry is prioritizing winning a Super Bowl ring over chasing another big payday, and Buffalo would be a great place to chase that goal. Second-year RB James Cook finished fourth in the league in rushing (1,122 yards) but he scored just two touchdowns. He also did almost as much damage as a receiver (44 receptions, 445 yards, four TDs) as he did as a runner.
Throwing Henry into the mix gives the Bills a true goal-line threat and cuts down on the number of times Josh Allen would have to punch the ball in the end zone himself. (He led the team with 15 rushing TDs this year.) Henry’s presence would also keep Cook fresher for longer and give Buffalo two good options for Allen to hand off to in the playoffs — something he hasn’t had in his four postseason runs with the Bills. Allen averages 39 pass attempts per game in the postseason.
Dallas Cowboys
As dynamic as the Cowboys offense was this season, Tony Pollard only rushed for 1,005 yards and six touchdowns, and they only got an additional 673 rushing yards and six touchdowns from players not named Pollard or Dak Prescott. Dallas missed Ezekiel Elliot’s presence in the backfield this year.
Adding Henry to pair with Pollard would give the Cowboys one of the top 1-2 RB punches in the NFC, it would cut down on Pollard’s workload (his 252 carries were seventh most), and it would make the team less reliant on finding rushing yards from other positions like receiver. (CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and KaVontae Turpin combined for 30 carries, 258 yards and two touchdowns.)
Kansas City Chiefs
Although Isiah Pacheco is a dynamic runner, he hasn’t quite proved he can be a bell-cow back just yet. Adding a player like Henry to split carries with would open up the Chiefs playbook and allow Andy Reid to exploit more favorable matchups with Pacheco in the pass game.
Kansas City ranks 19th in rushing and got minimal contributions from Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La’Mical Perine and Jerick McKinnon. Henry could easily handle 10-15 carries per game and make life easier for Patrick Mahomes, who could benefit from not having to throw close to 40 times per game.
