Despite have speculation days ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Tennessee Titans are expected to hold onto RB Derrick Henry. Per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Titans have told Henry they aren’t attempting to trade him and he will finish out the year with the team.
Here’s what Schefter had to say:
“The Tennessee Titans informed Derrick Henry this week that they don’t plan to trade him despite receiving inquiries about the Pro Bowl running back, league sources told ESPN.
This doesn’t mean he won’t be traded by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline — the Titans simply told Henry they don’t intend to move him.”
Schefter’s caveat is important to note, a trade has not been ruled out, but it doesn’t sound like Tennessee has an appetite to deal him. Assuming that holds true, Henry will then see the Steelers this Thursday to begin Week Nine.
At 30 years old and on the last year of his deal, trading Henry was a logical move for a rebuilding Tennessee Titans’ franchise. Through six games, they sit in the AFC South’s basement at 2-4 and will start rookie QB Will Levis tomorrow against the Atlanta Falcons. A loss to them would essentially end their season before the halfway mark. Perhaps that would compel the team to trade Henry but it sounds like they’ll have to be blown away by an offer to make it happen.
Teams like the Baltimore Ravens were speculated to be in the mix for someone like Henry given Baltimore’s power ground game and run-first style. But new Titans GM Ran Carthon doesn’t seem willing to trade more assets away and deplete his roster after sending star safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, a move that sent ex-Steeler Terrell Edmunds to Tennessee. Schefter’s report also notes the Dallas Cowboys have shown no interest in trading for him and if a deal were to occur, it’d likely happen a day early, Monday at 4 PM/EST, to allow time for a team to rework Henry’s contract.
A three-time Pro Bowlers and one-time All-Pro, Henry was drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Twice, he led the NFL in rushing, including going for over 2,000 yards in 2020. At one point, he was the league’s top back with a rare size of power and burst. But the Titans also worked him hard and he’s led the NFL in carries three times, including last season. This year, he’s rushed for 425 yards and three touchdowns with a 4.3 yards per carry and 44.9 percent run success rate, two of the lowest marks of his career. At this point, it’s hard to know what kind of value he’d fetch in a trade. Probably nothing close to what the Titans would be willing to ship him out for.
Pittsburgh and Tennessee kickoff in just a few days on November 2. In two career games against the Steelers, Henry has been bottled up, rushing for a combined 107 yards, held under four yards per carry, and just one rushing touchdown.
