A new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the Tennessee Titans and Derrick Henry haven’t discussed a new contract yet.
Despite Derrick Henry having the best season of his career in 2019, the Tennessee Titans haven’t discussed a new contract with their star running back yet.
Henry is in the last year of his rookie deal and is set to become a free agent in 2020.
However, up until this point, Henry and the Titans haven’t had any talks about a new contract this season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
"Although Derrick Henry is the league’s third-leading rusher, the Tennessee Titans have not had discussions about a contract extension with the running back, league sources told ESPN."
As Schefter notes, the Titans’ policy is not to do business during the season, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
The only thing that could halt the move to sign Henry to a long-term deal is the fact that teams are increasingly weary of giving running backs contract extensions given the limited shelf life at the position.
However, Henry has really only been fully featured since the end of the 2018 season, so there is still plenty of tread on the tires for the 6-foot-3, 247-pound back.
After a somewhat quiet start to the season, Henry has been on fire in his last three games and is undoubtedly the focal point of Tennessee’s offense. He’s totaled 496 yards and five touchdowns in that span, and has a chance to make history in Week 14.
If Henry can total 150 yards from scrimmage or more in his fourth straight game, he’ll be the fifth running back in NFL history to do so. For the season, Henry has already surpassed his career high in rushing yards and has compiled the third-most rushing yards in the league (1,140).
Henry, along with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, will be top priorities for the Titans in 2020. As ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported on Sunday, the Titans are having conversations about giving Tannehill a new contract after the season in order to avoid the franchise tag.
If I were a betting man, I’d say both Tannehill and Henry will remain with the Titans beyond 2019.