Titans RB Derrick Henry not expected to play in Week 16: Report

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is not expected to play in Week 16, according to a report.

It appears the Tennessee Titans will be taking on the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 without their star running back, Derrick Henry.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Henry, who was downgraded to questionable on Saturday due to a hamstring injury, is not expected to play on Sunday.

Henry has been playing hurt the past two weeks. Despite being hobbled, Henry totaled 189 yards and two touchdowns combined against the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans.

After not practicing at all last week, Henry was able to get in a limited practice on Wednesday and a full practice on Friday. There was some optimism that Henry would be good to go in Week 16, however that optimism was apparently misguided.

In Henry’s place, the Titans will use a combination of running backs Dion Lewis and Dalyn Dawkins. Neither are particularly appealing for fantasy purposes, but Lewis, who is the more experienced back, will likely carry a heavier workload.

With the AFC South now wrapped up, in order for the Titans to make the playoffs via the wild card they need one more conference win, which can come in Week 17, and a loss in either of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ last two games against the New York Jets or Baltimore Ravens.

Of course, the Titans could also sneak in if both they and the Steelers lose out, however Tennessee would need another loss out of the Indianapolis Colts or else the Titans would be on the outside looking in on a three way tiebreaker for the final playoff spot.

The bottom line is this: the Titans need a win next week more than anything else, so they probably figured getting Henry some rest this week and potentially having him at 100 percent next week was more worth it than running him out there injured both this week and next.