Introduction paragraphs are for introductions. Here’s an introduction for Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. To begin with, he crushed 2019. He was tied for the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL, had the most rushing yards, and had the most carries. Derrick Henry was the bell cow running back on a team that ran the ball 49.29 percent of the time, which was the third-most in the NFL. He also has three 150 rushing yard postseason games, which is second in NFL history. Furthermore, Derrick Henry is the only player in NFL history to rush for at least 170 yards in consecutive career playoff games. His 561 rushing yards in his first four career playoff games is the most by any running back in the modern era. And at age 26 heading into the 2020 NFL offseason, he’ll be a free agent.
Whether Or Not Derrick Henry Will Get Paid
Henry had a monster 2019. And when put into context, his 2019 is even more impressive. Henry faced eight or more defenders in the box on 35.31 percent of his carries. Opposing teams knew the run was coming. Opponents knew they had to stop Henry. But they couldn’t. Henry averaged 5.1 yards per carry in 2019 and had 968 yards after contact. Being 6’3″ and nearly 250 lbs and running a 4.5 40 yard dash makes Henry a punishing runner. He’s hard to bring down and even if you do bring him down, it exhausts you. However, impressive as his stats are, Henry’s recent success doesn’t guarantee a straightforward payday this offseason.
Running Backs Today
In today’s NFL, it’s hard to be a running back. Not just from a physical standpoint, but from a contract standpoint.
NFL running backs receive a lot of wear and tear from their college and NFL workload. As such, the shelf life for a running back is short. Unless you’re Frank Gore, around age 30 most running backs begin to lose their effectiveness and their bodies begin to show the effects of all that wear and tear. Because of this shelf-life, running backs want to get paid while they still can. Unfortunately, NFL teams are also aware of this shelf-life and don’t often invest heavily in running backs.
Only four running backs in the NFL make more than $8.5 million a year. The ones that do are a threat in not only the running game but also the passing game. Henry doesn’t check the passing threat box. He’s less of a dual-threat and more of a singular one. This means most of his production comes from rushing attempts and it also means more wear and tear on his body.
If anyone can survive the physicality and heavy workload it’s Henry. However, because of the running back shelf life, and the expectation that his running style will shorten that shelf life even further, it might be hard for a team to invest heavily in Derrick Henry.
A Franchise Tag for Derrick Henry
The Variety of Tags
Thanks to Le’Veon Bell, the term franchise tag is more well known. To sum it up, if a player is tagged it means a team will pay that player no less than the average of the five highest salaries at that player’s position. Or, a team can pay that player 120 percent of that player’s cap number from the previous season, whichever is greater. The drawback for the player is that it’s only for one season and thus keeps your future in jeopardy. A team can only use one tag per year and can tag a player up to three times. Each tag occurrence results in a jump in pay for the player.
A non-exclusive tag is the most commonly used tag. It means the player can negotiate with other teams, but his current team can match any offer. If the current team declines to match the offer, they get two first-round picks as compensation. An exclusive tag means the tagged player can’t negotiate with other teams.
A transition tag pays a player the average of the 10 highest-paid players at his position. A player that has received a transition tag is allowed to negotiate with other teams. The main difference with a transition tag is that if the current team chooses not to match an offer for the tagged player, they will not receive compensation.
Is This Possible for Derrick Henry?
As of now, the Titans have roughly $57 million in salary-cap space for the 2020 NFL season. That’s roughly $10 million more than the league average. They have the money to keep Henry as a Titan long term but a franchise tag is a possibility.
The Titans find themselves in an interesting position. Derrick Henry is their offense. His style of running gives them their identity as a team. Their offense and defense both feed off of him. Statistically, Henry touched the ball on 53 percent of the snaps he saw on the field. Other than the quarterbacks, no Titan had more than 21 percent. Henry is on the field often and when he is he gets the ball.
What the Titans do at quarterback will also play a large role. Ryan Tannehill thrives off of the play-action passing game. A good running game is integral to the success of play-action. So if Tannehill is the guy, Henry is integral to Tannehill. But, maybe the Titans don’t want to invest long-term in a guy with a lot of mileage on the tires. If that’s the case and they still want to keep him, a franchise tag makes a lot of sense. If that were the case, Henry would be projected to receive roughly $12 million with a franchise tag and roughly $10 million with a transition tag.
What It All Means for Derrick Henry
Unless something drastic happens, Derrick Henry will be a Tennessee Titan in 2020. Whether or not they sign him long-term depends on the return on investment the Titans feel Henry can deliver. That is option one. Option two is the Titans placing the franchise tag on Henry in lieu of a long-term deal. They know what he is and what he means to their team. They can’t let him go.
Derrick Henry has earned a big-time payday as a free agent. Seeing his hard work and success pay off (pun intended) would be great for him. Unfortunately for Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans control his monetary destiny.
