What To Do With Derrick Henry

Jon Robinson has put the Tennessee Titans in a bind with Derrick Henry's contract. What moves actually benefit the team in 2023 and possibly beyond?

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Sorry for the lateness of getting this newsletters out like I normally do. We may have a slight plumbing issue and I am competing in a KCBS BBQ contest in Murfreesboro this weekend as well. The schedule is a mess and sometimes my time management falls to the wayside.

Tomorrow, Tre’Jean is going to have an awesome article about the current state of the Titans Cornerback group. How comfortable are they with the guys they have? He talks all about it tomorrow.

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Recently, a rumor has popped up over at the Titan Upload Network about Derrick Henry is expected to get an extension from the Tennessee Titans. This article isn’t necessarily about disputing or agreeing with the rumor, but a look at Henry’s contract with the Titans.

What does an extension look like? Who does that benefit? What other ways could the Titans handle the misstep by their former GM in restructuring his contract? That’s what I am laying out there today.

How This Mess Was Made

It all harkens back to the 2020 off-season. Everything was right with the world. The Titans just came off of an AFC Championship Game appearance and looked to be an ascending team on the rise.

The Titans ended up buying some negotiating time with their star running back by franchise tagging him. That amount was $10.278m. Then from there, the unnecessary and idiotic off-season discourse was whether or not Henry would get an extension from the Titans.

If you listened to me, Mike, and Lebowski back then, we all told you he would get one. It was just a matter of when not if. Then came the big extension a day before my birthday, July 15th, 2020.

It was a 4 year/$50m dollar extension that was a good deal for all parties involved. Was it high for a running back? Me, yeah sort of. However, Henry has proven to be a unicorn of a running back.

In 2022, the third year of a four year deal, Robinson restructured Henry’s contract in an effort o gain some breathing room for the season that lied ahead. Robinson restructured Henry’s contract taking roughly $9.47m from his base salary, turning it into a bonus, and prorating it over four years. Two years that were left on his contract and adding two void years in 2024 and 2025.

This move saved the Titans a measly $5.2 million in cap space. In the end, while spending money was definitely necessary, as the Titans only had a rollover amount of $1.845 million, I am not sure that this was the contract to touch.

Here is what the contract looks like currently:

So, now the Titans have their choice of a few options, none of them that fantastic. What move actually benefits them with a $16.367 million cap hit in 2023 and a scheduled dead money amount of $4.375m hitting the books in 2024?

Trade/Release

Releasing Derrick Henry makes very little sense from every way you look at it. The fan, media, and NFL perception is that you would have no clue what they hell you’re doing. This would be a major red flag for Ran Carthon has he begins his journey as a general manager.

At this point you’d obviously be releasing him with a post-June 1st designation and saving $11m dollars in 2023, but you’re not changing the dead cap hit in 2024. That remains the same. So, unless there would be a corresponding move for Tee Higgins or a way above average under 27 year old wide receiver, releasing him would make no sense. What about trading?

Whether you choose to believe a General Manager or not, that’s your choice. GM’s are essentially highly trained liars when it comes to what moves they’re thinking of making or not making. Let’s be honest, people called or they called about the possibility of trading Henry.

It is very likely that the Titans think they can win this year with both Ryan Tannehill and Henry, thus their asking price in return is too high for other teams. Which in turn makes it really hard for the team to trade either away. So, what would the benefit be for the Titans then to either release or trade away one of their stalwart players?