Getty The Baltimore Ravens have been in contact with running back Derrick Henry
The Baltimore Ravens had a very quiet start to the NFL’s legal tampering period.
They are one of the few teams in the league that has yet to get any kind of deal done during the first day that teams can talk to outside free agents.
Meanwhile, they’ve already had four players from their 2023 roster find homes on other teams.
One was Gus Edwards, who spent most of the season as the team’s starting running back.
Losing him could force the Ravens to finally make the big splash at running back that has been expected for them throughout the offseason.
According to Browns insider Brad Stainbrook, the Ravens have been in contact with former Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.
Henry’s Fit With the Ravens
Henry was once the most dominant running back in the NFL. At his peak, the Titans were able to build a winning offense around him, which isn’t something teams do often with running backs anymore.
In 2023, he wasn’t that same transcendent player, but he was still pretty good.
Running behind one of football’s worst offensive lines, Henry was still able to gain 1167 yards on the ground while averaging 4.2 yards per carry and also punched in 12 touchdowns.
That level of production is something the Ravens have been missing at the position despite being one of the most run-heavy teams in the league.
They’ve been expected to change that throughout the offseason and have repeatedly been linked to Henry.
They have even been the betting favorite to sign him for all of the offseason.
With many other teams having already found their next running back early in the legal tampering period, the Ravens shouldn’t face too much competition to land Henry.
The contract just might be a bit more expensive than previously expected because of what has been a surprisingly strong running back market to start the offseason.
A Surprisingly Strong Running Back Market
During the 2023 offseason, the state of the running back market in the NFL became a big topic of conversation.
Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard all struggled to get long-term deals and ended up stuck playing the 2023 season on one-year contracts.
Austin Ekeler also had a tough time getting a new deal out of the Chargers.
There has been no such problem in the league this offseason.
On the first day of legal tampering in the NFL, running back has been one of the league has been one of the league’s most popular positions.
Barkley and Jacobs already got multi-year commitments for big money. D’Andre Swift and Pollard both got $8 million per year.
Ekeler, Devin Singletary, Antonio Gibson, and Edwards have also already been picked up this offseason.
Now the Ravens are still left to find their next starting running back in a bit of an elevated market.
That could make bringing Henry in a big more expensive than the Raven would have hoped, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’d be a great fit for a team that likes to run and doesn’t currently have a starting running back.