Looks like Tennessee Titans want to keep Derrick Henry. May not be simple, though | Estes

Derrick Henry’s contract is up after this season. I suspect the Tennessee Titans want him back.

If they didn’t, he’d already be gone.

The Titans could have traded their star running back when they moved safety Kevin Byard in October. Could have traded Henry this past offseason, too. Options would have been available.

But they didn’t do it, knowing full well that if Henry were to walk, they’d get zilch in return.

That was a clear hint about the Titans’ intentions with Henry. Other hints have been more subtle.

They’ve come in scenes like the locker room after an Oct. 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in which Henry passed Earl Campbell for second on the franchise’s all-time rushing list. Before Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk embraced Henry and told him, “I’m so proud of you,” coach Mike Vrabel tossed him a game ball and pointed back: “Tell that Buckeye we're coming for him. OK. Tell Eddie George we’re coming for him.”

Note Vrabel's word choice.

We.

George ran for 10,009 yards in eight seasons with the franchise. Henry, with four games remaining in his eighth season, has 9,210. He’ll need at least a ninth season to catch George.

Vrabel had to realize that then. And he had to know it on Nov. 26, when he said of Henry: “Proud of him, the career that he’s had thus far (with) 9,000 yards. Need 10,000.”

Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry don't have to break up

As I see it, the question isn't whether a Vrabel-led Titans would welcome Henry back in 2024.

It’ll be whether Henry wants to stay — probably at a reduced salary from what he’s making now and perhaps with a reduced role as well.

And that could get complicated.

For the first offseason in years, the Titans will have ample salary-cap space. That's good. But they’ve got a long list of needs to address, and it has been well-documented how the league's market for running backs has deteriorated. Like any other NFL team, the Titans shouldn’t be compelled to overpay for any running back.

Even a unicorn like Henry.

“No player like him,” Titans edge rusher Arden Key said, “255, 260 (pounds), built to run like that.”

From this summer: Here's the harsh truth for Derrick Henry and his RB colleagues | Estes

Henry will turn 30 in January. He isn’t the same player who ran for 2,000 yards in 2020 and would have done it again in 2021 had he not broken his foot. But he hasn’t gone off a cliff like some running backs with similar odometer numbers. Talk of a steep decline is exaggerated.

With 875 yards, he is third in the NFL in rushing right now. And that's with a losing team, a subpar offensive line and an offense that transitioned midstream to a rookie quarterback in Will Levis.

Henry has still reached at least 75 yards in seven of 13 games. Seems like each week brings news of another career milestone, the latest step in the direction of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I'm just thankful. I'm very blessed,” he said Thursday. “God has blessed me tremendously to keep going this long and have the success I've had. Hopefully, it continues.”

What Dolphins game showed about Derrick Henry's future with Titans

I traded messages Thursday morning with radio host Jared Stillman of 102.5 FM, who pointed out how much the latest episode of HBO's in-season “Hard Knocks” revealed the Miami Dolphins’ fixation on Henry. Stillman was right. The Dolphins obviously believed the best way to beat the Titans on Monday night was to slow Henry. They were wrong.

The Dolphins did slow Henry. They held him to 34 rushing yards. But they didn’t beat the Titans, because Levis threw for 327 yards and directed a stunning comeback in the final minutes.

Monday’s game, more than any this season, indicated where the Titans are going, rather than who they’ve been. Used to be that as Henry went, so did the Titans.

I’m sure plenty of opponents besides the Dolphins have prepared the same way because of it.

“He's the focal point. You've got to stop Derrick,” confirmed Key, who played last season for the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Derrick is the horse that gets this thing going, from me being on the outside and looking in.”

Stillman’s point, which he delved into on his afternoon drive-time show, was how important Henry’s continued presence in 2024 would be for Levis’ development.

A lot of truth to that. It’s backed by players on the field, too.

“We've faced teams in the past, and I've noticed guys just kind of check out and not really want to have to tackle Derrick,” Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine said. “They know it's a business decision if they want to go in there and try to do that.

“It can make our jobs easier in that way, but it also opens up the pass game for us, too.”

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Will Derrick Henry leave Tennessee Titans?

If you’re wondering, Henry doesn’t want to talk about the offseason yet.

He shrugged off a question Thursday about whether Levis’ fast start has him thinking about returning to keep playing alongside him.

“I'm just enjoying the season right now,” Henry said, “enjoying each and every moment and taking it day by day. It's been good to see (Levis) grow.”

It'd be strange to see Henry in another uniform. But it happens. It gets forgotten how George didn't play his entire career with the Titans (or Oilers). His final season — at age 31 — was with the Dallas Cowboys. He had been released by the Titans.

If that can happen to George, the greatest player of the Titans’ era in Nashville, there’s no guarantee about the coming months with King Henry.

The Titans would be better off with Henry than without him. I believe they understand that.

It just probably won’t be that simple.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What would keep Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans from breaking up?