Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel informed reporters that running back Derrick Henry‘s 3-week return window could start this Wednesday after doing some work today, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter). The reigning holder of the rushing title has missed the last 8 games of the season with a foot injury. 
Henry opted to undergo potentially season-ending foot surgery after breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot in the first half of Tennessee’s win in Indianapolis. His timeline for a return sat at around 6-10 weeks, which is turning out to be fairly accurate, meaning he could return for a Titans playoff run.
At the time of his injury, Henry led the league in rushing yards, with 937, and rushing touchdowns, with 10. Through 8 games, those numbers are astounding. In fact, if he had not been injured, and continued to hold that same pace of production, Henry would still lead the league in rushing yards and touchdowns and would be pushing close to his 2020 career-best of 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns. Henry was just short of being on pace to be the first player in NFL history with two 2,000-yard rushing seasons in a career, let alone consecutively. D’Onta Foreman has done an admirable job showing up in Tennessee to fill in, but the return of Henry would immediately boost the Titans’ odds of win their first ever Super Bowl.
The Titans currently sit as the 1st Seed in the AFC and can clinch the conference’s only first round bye with a win over the Texans in Houston. That would give Henry an extra week of healthy practice as he works his way back to the game. The timing could line up perfectly for the Henry and the Titans, who have won consecutive division titles and are starting to become a mainstay in the NFL playoff picture with four appearances in the last five years.
Should he get some easy plays in Week 18, just to get him some in-game practice? Or should he sit just a bit longer to be safe?
Think they play it safe. HOU has been surprisingly competitive at times this year but they should win.
Give Henry the extra 2 weeks of healing time. Seems like the type of guy who’ll turn it on with a few practices come playoff time.
Henry shouldn’t play at all this year. Ruining a Hall of Fame career for a single playoff game – Henry goes in for a quarter or quarter and a half and gets re-injured – makes no sense to anyone except team owners, most of whom would be on board with Aztec human sacrifice if it would gain them a conference title or a Superbowl win.
That’s a doctor decision. If he’s capable of playing, he’ll play.
Tennessee ran all over Miami without him. Play the guys who are going to give you everything they have, as Henry might need some time to regain his confidence/form.