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Is Derrick done? Henry’s best moments with Tennessee

  • Turron Davenport, ESPNMar 8, 2024, 07:10 PM ET

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      Turron Davenport covers the Tennessee Titans for ESPN. Turron is a former collegiate football player at Cheyney University and is a native of Philadelphia, and he has authored/co-authored four books. You can catch Turron on ESPN Radio on his show “Talking with TD” and you can follow him on Twitter: @TDavenport_NFL.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The likely end of an era is upon us with former Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry‘s contract set to expire at the start of the new league year Wednesday.

ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler said Friday that Henry is unlikely to return to the Titans, per sources, though the door is not completely closed. This means he is set to hit the free agency market and can begin to legally negotiate with other teams come noon Monday.

Henry’s 9,502 career rushing yards place him second to Eddie George (10,009) for the most all-time in the history of the Titans/Oilers franchise, and he’s currently the active leader in the NFL. He’s also currently tied for 13th all time with Hall of Fame running backs Curtis Martin and Eric Dickerson with 90 career touchdowns.

He won two rushing titles and the Offensive Player of the Year award, and he was named to four Pro Bowls.

Over the last five years, Henry’s 15 runs of 40 or more yards are tops in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information. With 43 runs of 20 or more yards over that same span, Henry is second only to Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb‘s 49 for the most in the league.

Henry was drafted by the Titans in the second round out of Alabama in 2016. In his first three seasons he had 14 starts, but in 2019, when he started in the 15 games he played, he rushed for 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns.

In 2020, he became just the eighth person to rush for over 2,000 yards, and he was on pace to do it again in 2021 before an injury derailed his season.

If 2023 was his last season in Nashville, he leaves having rushed for 1,167 yards (second most) and 12 touchdowns for a city that has fully embraced him.

Few players in the history of the Titans have electrified fans the way the 30-year-old Henry has when he gets his hands on the ball. At 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, he was a big play waiting to happen whenever he lined up in the backfield.

Henry had many highlight plays in his time in Tennessee, but here are five of the most memorable ones:

‘Good to see you, Earl’

Opponent: Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 11, 2020

When: Divisional round

Run: 27 yards

Henry was fresh off gaining 182 yards and a touchdown in a 20-13 Tennessee victory over the New England Patriots in the wild-card round of the playoffs before facing the Ravens in the divisional round. Former Ravens safety Earl Thomas said the Patriots “weren’t interested” in tackling Henry and vowed that the Ravens would.

That didn’t work too well as Henry finished with 195 yards to fuel the Titans to a 28-12 stunning win over Baltimore. Henry caught Thomas with two stiff-arms on the same run. The first one was to the face that spun Thomas around. The second one was a push to the back that sent Thomas running out of bounds.

Henry who isn’t normally one to talk trash had some words for Thomas after the double stiff-arm.

“Good to see you, Earl. Good to see you, man. Hopefully we can do this again,” Henry said after the play.

THE stiff-arm

Opponent: Buffalo Bills on Oct. 13, 2020

When: Week 5

Run: 4 yards

This run was a short gain and ended up not counting after an offsetting holding call on Titans center Ben Jones, and offsides on Bills defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson caused the down to be played over.

But it was one of Henry’s most signature moments. Known for his stiff-arm move, this one sent 6-foot, 195-pound defensive back Josh Norman flying. Norman made the mistake of trying to tackle Henry high and ended up getting a free flight as his reward.

“I have been doing too many curls,” Henry said after the 42-16 win over Buffalo. “I have to lay off the arms.”

A little bit of everything

Opponent: Houston Texans on Jan. 11, 2020

When: Week 6

Run: 94-yard touchdown

The 94-yard run accounted for almost half of the 212 yards Henry would pick up against Houston. This game marked the first of three consecutive 200+ yard rushing games Henry had against the Texans.

Henry’s full arsenal was on display on this touchdown run. He lined up at his customary eight yards deep in the backfield and scanned the field looking for a seam as he took the handoff. Henry shot by Texans linebacker Zach Cunningham and combined a cutback with a slight stiff-arm to make safety Eric Murray miss. After that, Henry’s long speed was too much for anyone to catch him, including safety Justin Reid who hit 22.02 mph at one point during the play.

“The stiff-arm is something that we had been working on with him,” then Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “People come at his legs. He’s taking his hand down there to the helmet that’s coming at his knee. He’s able to fend them off then has the speed to pull away from DBs.”

‘My eyes got big’

Opponent: Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 10, 2019

When: Week 10

Run: 68-yard touchdown

This was another one of those runs that showed everything that made Henry one of the most explosive players in the league over the last five seasons. Henry took the handoff and darted through a hole before breaking a tackle and hurdling another defender.

It only took a few steps for Henry to hit top speed, and despite being one of the biggest backs in the NFL, no one was coming close to catching him.

“Once I’d seen the hole, the defense overflowed,” Henry said after the game. “I just cut back and I saw the seam. My eyes got big. I broke the tackle, and the rest was history. It was six.”

History was made

Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec 6, 2018

When: Week 14

Run: 99-yard touchdown

Henry singled this one out as the best carry of his career, so who are we to disagree?

The 99-yard run tied Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett for the longest carry in league history. This historic moment almost didn’t happen because the play had the option of being a run by Henry or quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Looks like the Titans benefitted from Mariota opting for Henry.

Henry found an opening soon after he got the ball on the 1-yard line. A vicious stiff-arm fought off Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye, then another one helped Henry run by linebacker Leon Jacobs. One final stiff-arm to Myles Jack sprung Henry to the end zone for the score.

“I got down the field and as I was stiff-arming [Bouye], it gave the linebacker a chance to catch up,” Henry said after the game. “I was already going and couldn’t let him take me down, so I gave him a stiff-arm and brought him to the ground. It’s funny because Corey [Davis] — like he always does — was right beside me trying to block. I was about to stiff-arm him but I saw he wasn’t a defender. Then Myles Jack came up, and I was able to give him a stiff-arm. The rest was history.”

Bonus run

Opponent: Jaguars on Jan. 7, 2024

When: Week 18

Run: 69 yards

In what could be his last game as a Titan, Henry dashed into the Jaguars’ secondary on this play and showed his breakaway speed. He was clocked at 21.68 mph on the carry, the third-fastest speed in Henry’s career.

Henry’s big run didn’t have a storybook ending, as Jaguars safety Andre Cisco was able to bring Henry down just shy of the goal line, but fans at Nissan Stadium got to chant “HEN-RY! HEN-RY!” one last time.

Henry finished with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries on the day.

“It felt like 2018 again when it first all started,” Henry said after the game. “It’s very cool to be able to experience that. Knowing that they did that same thing for Eddie [George], who I idolize a lot. It’s cool to have that relationship with the fans.”


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