It started last season when the Tennessee Titans made their surprising play-off run. In the NFL Wild Card round the Titans beat the New England Patriots 20-13, on the back of Derrick Henry’s 34 carries for 182 yards and one touchdown. It continued in the division round where the Titans upended the Baltimore Ravens 28-12, again relying on Henry’s 30 carries for 195 yards. The the bubble bursts as the Titans fell to eventual Super Bowl Champions, Kansas City Chiefs, 24-35. In that game Henry rushed 19 times for 69 yards and one touchdown.
When Henry excelled the Titans excelled. The 2019 season witnessed Henry excelling. Drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Titans, Henry made his first Pro Bowl last season. He also led the league in rushing attempts (303), rushing yards (1540), and rushing touchdowns (16).
Embed from Getty ImagesThen came the buzz-kill. In March 2020 the Titans signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a four-year $118 million contract with $91 million in guarantees. This will placing the franchise tag on Henry. In April, Henry signed his $10.278 million franchise tag.
Here is the skinny. The franchise tag is good for one year. If the player and team do not negotiate a long term deal by 4pm EST on July 15,2020 the franchise tag stands.
Per sources the Titans signed Henry to a four-year $50 million contract that includes $25.5 million in guarantees. It wasn’t exactly last minute, but it was close. The question now that Tennessee has wrapped up it’s 2019 play-off heroes, will it pay off?
Henry will be 26 this season. He has showed improvement every year, from his 4.5 rushing average in his rookie season, to his 5.1 rushing average last season. He ran for 12 touchdowns in 2018 and had 16 touchdowns in 219. In one year his rushing attempts went from 215 to 303.
Henry’s contract hasn’t vaulted him higher than he was for paid running backs. What it does give him is a contract for four-years, a boost of confidence?
In comparison:
NFL’s highest paid running backs (average salary per year) per AZCentral.com
- Christian McCaffrey, $16 million, Carolina Panthers
- Ezekiel Elliott, $15 million, Dallas Cowboys
- Le’Veon Bell, $13.1 million, New York Jets
- David Johnson, $13 million, Houston Texans
- Derrick Henry, $12.5 million (last year $10.3), Tennessee Titans
So congratulations, Tennessee and Henry. Now we will see if the Titans get what they paid for.
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