Tennessee Titans still open to trading Derrick Henry
By Will Lomas
The Tennessee Titans stunned the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and now there is a completely different outlook on the season in Nashville.
Despite it just being one game, rookie QB Will Levis looked incredible for the Tennessee Titans. He looked like he was in complete control of the offense and the team had a completely different energy when he was on the field.
For some reason, people have been dismissive of the performance because it was "just the Falcons" but people seem to have a poor understanding of how solid that Falcons defense is. Despite facing the Detroit Lions and the Jacksonville Jaguars, no one has scored more points against the Falcons' defense than the Titans did on Sunday.
The Atlanta Falcons have played against three rookie quarterbacks at this point, and if you want to compare apples to apples, here is how Will Levis stacked up against his peers:
However, don't the Tennessee Titans can't let the sudden jolt of optimism distract them from what they are. Unless they earn a wildcard spot in the playoffs, it is highly unlikely that the Titans are going to make the postseason.
The Tennessee Titans should trade Derrick Henry if they get a strong offer
Even if they make the playoffs, it would be very unlikely that the Titans end up going on a postseason run. With that in mind, now is the perfect time to try to sell high on a few players at the trade deadline. No one is a better sell high candidate than Derrick Henry who just had another 100-yard game.
On Saturday, Adam Schefter wrote an article stating that the Tennessee Titans had told Derrick Henry that he wouldn't be traded. However, people completely missed the second line of that article which said, "This doesn't mean he won't be traded by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline -- the Titans simply told Henry they don't intend to move him." This is a crucial detail if you will use this as a reason why the Titans aren't going to trade Henry.
Jay Glazer went a step further saying that he reached out to teams after Schefter's report came out and one team said that they didn't think that was true because they were still actively having talks with the Titans to trade for Derrick Henry.
Henry had a good game, but even in that game, he was outshined by Tyjae Spears who managed to produce a 20+ yard run despite only getting 3 carries. Right now it looks like the future of this franchise is Levis and Spears, and Derrick Henry will probably be somewhere else in 2024.
I still believe that the best way to attack the rest of the season is to figure out how to build an offense around Will Levis that emphasizes his best traits. A big part of that is going to be having as many draft picks and as much money as possible next season, and if Derrick Henry can get the Titans a 3rd round pick then they have to jump on it.