Austin Ekeler deal is noteworthy for Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry

What do we think Henry’s value is now?

Well, according to Overthecap who helped PFF out with their free agency projections, 2019 ended up with Austin Ekeler’s valuation at $11.6 million while Henry was valued at $9.7 million.

The big difference between the two was that Ekeler was a RFA while Henry is a UFA meaning that the Chargers had a lot of leverage in their contract negotiations. Still, based on his performance last year that means that the Chargers still got Ekeler for 53% of his projected worth.

Now, I don’t expect Henry to sign a $5 million deal or anything like that, but is Henry really going to find someone on the open market who is willing to double the Ekeler contract for an older running back who has had to come off of the field on third downs for his entire career?

I just don’t know if I see that happening.

To me, it has never made sense for the Titans to just let Derrick Henry walk but at the same time I don’t think that Henry would be as good or as well loved in any city other than Nashville.

A deal seems imminent for the Titans and Henry, but the Ekeler deal should give Titans fans optimism that a 4-year deal wouldn’t break the bank and they would still have room to make other signings in free agency.