“It Was Bittersweet” – Ravens’ Derrick Henry’s Candid Response to Late Fallout With Titans

The Tennessee Titans drafted Derrick Henry 45th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

“It Was Bittersweet” – Ravens’ Derrick Henry’s Candid Response to Late Fallout With Titans

Derrick Henry (Image via IMAGO)

Derrick Henry is set to play against his former team, the Tennessee Titans, in week 4. With that around the corner, Henry revealed that the reunion remained a “bittersweet” occasion.

Henry left the Titans in 2024 and signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Sunday’s fixture will be his first time competing against the team from Music City.

It’s going to be a crazy moment to be playing against the team that I came in the league playing for.

Derrick Henry said via Jamison Hensley of ESPN

Derrick Henry still has ties to Tennessee and looks forward to rekindling them.“It’s still like family there. So, it’s always love, but it ain’t going to be much love on Sunday,” Henry said.

In 2023, Henry led the NFL with 280 carries for 1167 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. The Titans unfortunately finished 6-11 that season.

In the offseason, they underwent a massive overhaul. Mike Vrabel was fired. Furthermore, Henry wasn’t offered an extension even though he wanted to stick around.

Nah, they shook me out… I wouldn’t say it like that; it’s always love. But no, they didn’t offer. Not at all.

Derrick Henry said via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

Henry entered free agency and waited for teams to reach out. One of the teams he was personally eager to play for was the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas was in dire need of an elite rusher but didn’t have sufficient funds to bring the former Alabama star to Arlington.

Henry later revealed that the Cowboys declined to agree to his requested salary. However, the Ravens did, and he signed with them to remain in the AFC.

It turned out to be the right move as he signed a two-year, $16 million deal worth up to $20 million with the AFC North franchise. The star player repaid it with 325 carries for 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns (most in the league).

If Saquon Barkley hadn’t recorded 2283 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns, en route to a Super Bowl winner’s medal with the Eagles, Henry would surely have won his second Offensive Player of the Year title.

Regardless, the Ravens bumped up his salary before the 2025 campaign. He signed a two-year contract extension worth $30 million total, with $25 million guaranteed. So far, Henry has run for 3,817 yards and scored 40 touchdowns for the Ravens.

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Derrick Henry is making NFL defenses pay for a decade

Henry is the prototypical running back with size, strength, and speed. He glides through the turf once the game begins. Stopping the 32-year-old is a feat that defenses fail to accomplish.

"It Was Bittersweet" - Ravens' Derrick Henry's Candid Response to Late Fallout With Titans
Derrick Henry (Image via IMAGO)

Before the Brazil game, Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer teased that they will give special attention to Henry, as he single-handedly has the skill set to change the tide in the Ravens’ favor.

The key to [stopping] Derrick [Henry] is you have to not let him get started. You have to junk up the front for him and make it to where he can’t press his hole and build up to full speed.

Schottenheimer said

The Cowboys limited Henry to just 3.2 yards per carry, but he still scored two touchdowns. Those scores proved crucial in securing the Ravens’ famous victory. Henry’s former teammate and Titans star defensive tackle, Jeffery Simmons, knows a trick to keeping him quiet.

According to Pro Football Focus, Henry has scored more rushing touchdowns (128) in the last ten years than any other player. He has scored 43 more than the next-best, Josh Allen (Buffalo quarterback).

Henry is third on the list of the league’s all-time rushing touchdown leaders. Henry surpassed Raiders’ legend Marcus Allen earlier in the season. Only LaDainian Tomlinson (145) and Emmitt Smith (164) have scored more.

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