We heard last month that the Titans were interested in extending Derrick Henry. Well, it sounds like the star running back is open to an extension, as well. Speaking to Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky, Henry said he’d be interested in signing another deal with Tennessee.

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“It’s always good to get a promotion at your job,” Henry said. “A promotion is always good. I’m trying to work through that but I’m currently still under contract. If that’s what the future holds, then yeah, that’d be great.”

Back in 2020, Henry inked a four-year, $50MM deal that would keep him on the Titans through the 2023 campaign. In terms of average annual value, the deal ranks fifth at the position (behind Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dalvin Cook). While he’s coming off a significant injury, Henry has otherwise been healthy throughout his NFL career, so an extension could help him climb that AAV leaderboard. At the very least, a new extension could garner Henry some addition guarantees while carving out some extra space for the Titans.

Henry was prolific in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and he carried that production over to 2021. Through the first eight games, the RB compiled 1,091 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns. While his yards per carry was way down (5.4 in 2020 to 4.3 in 2021), he was on track to have a career year in the receiving game. A foot injury knocked him out for the final nine games of the regular season, and while he managed to return for the Titans playoff loss, most of his offseason focus has been on his health.

“I’m doing a lot of footwork, making sure that I am finding my toes, he always tells me that when I am working out, just so I am balancing my foot,” Henry told Kuharsky. “I feel good, I am running hills, doing restricted running, all those types of things to make sure I am ready.” 

Derrick Henry is coming off his first significant injury as a pro, having missed nine regular-season games before returning for the Titans’ divisional-round tilt. But the two-time rushing champion had amassed a staggering lead on the rest of the NFL at the time he suffered the foot ailment; he still finished ninth in rushing last season.

The Titans have Henry signed through 2023, by virtue of the four-year, $50MM extension the parties agreed to just before the 2020 franchise tag deadline. But the team is open to doing another deal with its star running back, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes.

Although third running back contracts for notable sums are exceedingly rare in the modern NFL, another Henry-Titans pact would help the team create near-future cap space. Henry would also collect some guaranteed money; the guarantees on his current deal ended after last season. A new deal, however, could tag Tennessee with dead money down the road. As is, Henry is attached to $15MM cap numbers in 2022 and ’23. The Titans are near the bottom of the NFL in cap space, holding barely $3MM.

Since paying Henry two summers ago, the Titans have opted not to extend Corey Davis, Jonnu Smith and A.J. Brown. Henry and Robert Woods‘ nonguaranteed contracts represent the only noteworthy veteran salaries among Titan skill-position players presently. Tennessee’s post-Brown plan will place pressure on first-round pick Treylon Burks, who will essentially replace the traded wide receiver, and for Henry to keep delivering top-shelf backfield work.

Henry is entering his age-28 season. He compiled workhorse carry totals for the past two-plus seasons, but his first three years — when he spent much of that time alongside DeMarco Murray — kept those numbers down. Henry’s per-carry average did drop to 4.3 last season, down from north of five yards per tote in 2019 and ’20, and he is sitting on 1,401 career carries (second-most among projected starting backs, behind only Ezekiel Elliott‘s 1,650). It will be interesting to see what kind of effect Henry’s recent handoff counts (303 in 2019, 378 in 2020 and 219 in an abbreviated ’21) have on his 2022 form.

It’s official. On Wednesday, the Titans announced that they have designated running back Derrick Henry for return from the injured reserve list. 

This was the expected news after weeks of positive updates on Henry’s surgically-repaired foot. Once thought to be a season-ender, Henry has beat his initial recovery timeline by a mile. From here, the Titans could conceivably activate Henry for this week’s game against the Texans, though they may prefer to take the cautious approach.

Henry led the league in 2019 with 1,540 rushing yards last year while notching a total of 18 touchdowns. Last year, he set a new personal watermark with 2,027 yards via the ground, 17 rushing TDs, and 21 total scores.

The Titans have managed an 11-5 record despite playing much of the year without Henry, but they’re clearly a better team with him on the field. From here, the Titans plan to ease Henry back into practice and assess whether to dress him on Sunday. If Henry can’t go, the Titans will continue to use D’Onta Foreman as their lead back, a plan that has served them well so far. Just last week, Foreman turned back the clock to rack up 132 rushing yards against the Dolphins.

Derrick Henry is expected to practice with the Titans on Wednesday (Twitter link via Dianna Russini of ESPN.com). This marks yet another step forward for the star running back who is expected to be a full go for the playoffs.

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There’s even a chance that Henry could play against the Texans in the season finale, Russini hears, though that’s thought to be something of a long shot. The Titans, of course, will be heavily favored with or without Henry, but they can clinch the AFC’s only first-round bye with a win.

Henry has been out since October after undergoing foot surgery. At the time of his injury in Week 8, he led the league in rushing yards (937) and rushing touchdowns (10). Extrapolated for a full season, that would have given Henry 2,027 rushing yards — enough to put him in Eric Dickerson territory, albeit with an extra game — and 17 touchdowns.

If Henry doesn’t play on Sunday, the Titans will continue to use D’Onta Foreman as their lead rusher. Foreman alone could be enough to give Houston fits, as shown by his 132-yard performance against the Dolphins last week.