3 potential landing spots for Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry
By Lee Vowell
Landing spot No. 3: Tennessee Titans trade Henry to the Carolina Panthers
Yes, I have the other team here involved in the Bears-Panthers trade for the number 1 pick in the 2023 draft. Both teams have reasons to make even more moves and both teams have reasons to make a trade for a running back as well.
The reasons for making a move to get Henry differ for each team, though. I also thought of having the Buffalo Bills on this list but the Tennessee Titans trading Henry to another AFC team is iffy, though I can conceivably see that happening more with Miami than Buffalo.
However, Carolina will have to be a team that runs the ball a lot in 2023. They will most likely take a quarterback with the first pick, of course, but that quarterback needs time to learn and adjust to the NFL. Having a great running back is only going to help the QB that the Panthers choose.
Carolina has a couple of items that might convince the Tennessee Titans to make a trade for Henry. One is that they could trade a second-round pick in 2023 plus a pick in 2024. But Tennessee needs more quality at linebacker and Tennessee could ask for Frankie Luvu in return as part of a trade package from Carolina. Luvu is only 26 years old and coming off his best season where he had 7 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 2022.
The Tennessee Titans trading Derrick Henry would not be a fun thing but it might be necessary. Tennessee is in a bit of a transition and needs to make some moves now to make sure they aren’t terrible in three years. Henry likely won’t be traded as he is still very good, but he has a value that Tennessee could offer to other teams to help the Titans be better long-term.