The Tennessee Titans have quite the mess on their hands at season’s end – 21 expiring contracts. Many of those belong to guys who are playing in critical roles on the team and will require some lengthy conversations and evaluations – Logan Ryan, Jack Conklin, Ryan Tannehill. But, chief among them is running back Derrick Henry. I mean, you have to re-sign Ryan, right? Maybe Conklin’s going to demand too much. Tannehill would be a nice bridge to the next franchise quarterback. But, what on Earth do you with Henry?
I think it’s going to be one of the biggest questions the Titans have to answer about themselves heading into the 2020 season.
Right now, what’s not a question is the fact that Henry is the MVP of this team on offense so far. His 832 rushing yards have him at 5th in the NFL. He’s one yard shy of 1,000 yards from scrimmage. And, he has 10 total touchdowns on the season. At times, he’s pretty much the only Titan doing anything on offense.
But, would committing to pay Henry to be the bell cow on offense mean committing to a philosophy that has gotten the Titans stuck in 9-7 or 5-5 purgatory for the last four years? Even when he’s on, is it going to be enough to get the Titans over the hump? And, do you pay Henry a top five running back contract?
The average cap hit of the five highest paid running backs in the league is around $8.5M annually. The Arizona Cardinals seem to have lucked into a good financial situation – paying David Johnson and getting Kyler Murray in the NFL Draft. The Titans could find themselves in a similar situation, but the decision on Tannehill might complicate that.
The five highest paid backs in the league are Johnson, Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, Leonard Fournette, and Lamar Miller based on their 2019 cap hit. Those guys currently rank 43rd, 23rd, 21st, and 6th in rushing respectively. Miller is out for the season with an injury. Meanwhile, the top five rushers in the league are Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Chubb, Chris Carson, and Henry – the average cap hit of the top five rushers in the league is around $2M. That’s staggering – demonstrative of how you can find tremendous production for a good value at running back.
Is it worth giving a back, regardless of his ability, big money on a big contract?
Another factor to consider is how each situation is different. It gets back to philosophy. Henry is perfect for what the Titans are trying to do, but they haven’t shown a propensity for using him correctly. Getting as few carries in the first half of the game against the Carolina Panthers was mind-boggling. Taking him off the field in third and short situations, opting for the overpaid Dion Lewis instead, seems egregious.
So, the answer lies in the evaluation of not just Derrick Henry, but the coaching staff and offensive philosophy as a whole. If he continues to produce at this level, finishes inside the top five in rushing, and is the clear MVP of the Titans, I have no problem with the Titans paying the man. Especially now that we know this team won’t have to worry about tying up a bunch of money in Marcus Mariota.
That’s contingent upon the Titans staff figuring out how to get him the ball and use him properly, though. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I don’t have the utmost faith that that can happen. Regardless, Derrick Henry has shown that he can be one of the best backs in the NFL – whether it’s the Titans or another team, someone is going to pay him.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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