I’m not going to make any bones about it. Derrick Henry proved himself to be the best running back in the entire NFL last season. He claimed the league’s rushing title in the final game of the season, tallying 1,540 yards in the process. Then, he proceeded to go on a tear through the postseason unlike anything we’ve seen in a long, long time. 182 yards against the New England Patriots. 195 yards against the Baltimore Ravens. He only had 69 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship. But, the Titans got away from pounding him in the second half. All in all, he had 446 yards and two touchdowns in three games.
More importantly, he proved his importance to the Titans offense. Ryan Tannehill’s emergence was uncanny for sure. But, that offense runs through King Henry. El Tractorcito is the key cog in making the whole thing go, and because of that, he’s invaluable.
This revelation, if you will, couldn’t have come at a better time for Henry, as it’s time for the Titans to put up or shut up. If not, he’ll test the waters in free agency and hunt that big money contract. He’s already come out and said that Zeke money is the floor. Y’all, that’s six years, $90M, $50M guaranteed. That is a lot of money.
So, what do the Titans do?
I don’t think they’re in as bad a spot with the salary cap as some do. According to Spotrac, they’re already set at around $48M in available cap space. I wouldn’t be surprised to see ’em free up some more space by moving guys like Delanie Walker, Dion Lewis, and/or Cameron Wake. Tannehill and Henry are going to be top priorities, but the Titans absolutely have the capacity to pay ’em both.
The question is whether or not it’s wise to commit a ton of money to the running back position.
The average of the top five average salaries at the running back position is $12.7M. The average cap hit of the top five rushers in 2019 was $2.9M. That’s an illustration of the cliché that “running backs come cheap.” The other fear is the health of a running back. Zeke was the exception in 2019 – he got his big money and still finished in the top five in rushing. Todd Gurley got paid, and then his production dipped. David Johnson got paid, and then he got hurt. It just seems like a dangerous precedent for teams that are in a position like the Titans.
Should those be concerns with Henry?
The dude’s had 804 carries in four seasons, but 303 of those came in 2019 alone. That’s an average of 167 carries per season from 2016-18. The wear and tear you’d typically see on a back after four years isn’t evident with Derrick Henry. Plus, outside of some minor concerns, he’s never really had any injury issues. Not to mention, he’s built like a brick shithouse. There aren’t many running backs like him, and you’d like to think that if anyone is built to withstand a long career at running back, it’s Derrick Henry.
That’s the dilemma the Titans are in – trying to answer the questions of whether or not Henry is different from recent running back busts, and whether or not his value on the Titans offense warrants top dolla dolla.
Gun to my head, my official unofficial opinion on this matter is PAY THE MAN.
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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