With Sunday’s 19-16 home loss to the surprising Houston Texans, the Tennessee Titans were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The loss in many ways assures change is coming in Nashville.
One big change expected is with star running back Derrick Henry, who’s in the final year of a four-year, $50 million deal he signed in 2020. At 29 years old and with the amount of wear and tear Henry has endured as the focal point of the Titans offense, it’s highly unlikely that the Titans re-sign the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Following Sunday’s loss, Henry, the Titans’ second all-time leading rusher with 9,219 rushing yards (trailing only Eddie George) and its all-time leader in touchdowns with 88, sounded like someone who sees the writing on the wall. The bruising but nimble back spent the good portion of this season at the center of trade speculation between a few teams. While none of it came to fruition, Henry knows he’s much more likely to be playing in another city in 2024.
Henry Laments The End Is Near In Music City
During his postgame interview on Sunday, Henry addressed the elephant in the room. With just three games left in the season, he knows time is running out in the only place he’s played in his NFL career.
“Yeah, definitely today you had that feeling that it could be the end of my career with the Titans. I had hope of kind of slipping in there [the playoffs], and then being eliminated with three games left … I’ve been here my whole career. Definitely wanted to go out strong, which isn’t the case.”
The consistently rising Texans defense held Henry to nine yards rushing on 16 carries. For the season Henry has rushed for 884 yards and ten touchdowns through 14 games, by far his lowest total in any season as the team’s featured back. His 3.8 yards per carry average is a full yard less than his career average of 4.8 per carry.
There’s also a few other factors that will play a role in Henry moving on at season’s end.
The Will Levis Era Is Here
For years the Titans have been searching for a franchise quarterback, even with veteran Ryan Tannehill in tow, he was no more than a fill-in. The team drafted former Kentucky Wildcats star Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft to be their eventual starter. Coming into the season Levis was slated as the third string signal-caller. That changed in Week 8 when Levis was thrust into action with Tannehill hurt and him now ahead of 2022 first-round kick Malik Willis on the depth chart.
Since Levis was inserted the team hasn’t won much, going just 3-5, but you can see that Levis has huge potential to lead this team going forward. In his eight starts he’s passed for 1,792 yards, eight touchdowns and just four interceptions. Not exactly gaudy numbers, but he’s shown some real leadership and play that has Titans brass and fans clamoring for more.
Mike Vrabel Headed To Foxboro?
It’s no secret that Henry and head coach Mike Vrabel are close and cut from the same cloth of tough and hard-nosed. But, with the rumors of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick not being back in Foxborough next season, Vrabel’s name has come up often as a possible replacement.
That’s where Vrabel played eight seasons of his 14-year NFL career under Belichick, helping that team become a dynasty and win three Super Bowls in four years.
While it’s highly unlikely that the Patriots trade for Vrabel, it’s still something to ponder with Henry’s career in Nashville just about done.
