Getty The Baltimore Ravens were predicted to give Derrick Henry a 2-year, $20 million contract
The Baltimore Ravens have a chance to make a big splash in free agency during the 2024 NFL offseason.
They currently have an opening at starting running back and are expected to pursue one of the big names in this year’s free agent class.
That could lead them to a running back who has earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in four of the last five seasons.
In an article predicting how much the top running backs in this year’s free agent class will get paid, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox predicted that Derrick Henry would get a 2-year, $20 million contract and named the Ravens as the team that could give it to him.
It would be a slight decrease in pay for Henry, who just finished a deal with the Titans that paid him $12.5 million per year.
Henry would provide the Ravens with the big name they’re looking for at running back and they’d give him a chance to compete for a ring before he exits his prime.
A Rare Running Back
At a time when more and more teams around the NFL are turning to committees at running back, Henry has been a truly special player at the position.
Henry hasn’t just been the lead back for his team over the last five seasons, he has been the plaer his offense was built around.
During that time, he has led the league in carries four times and averaged more than 100 yards per game in three of those seasons.
He was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year back in 2020.
Henry took a bit of a step back in 2023. He only carried the ball 280 times, which still led the league.
His yards per carry also dipped to the lowest number he’s posted since 2017.
He was also playing for a team with a bad offensive line and a struggling offense.
A move to a contender could be just what Henry needs to get back to posting the prolific numbers he has put up in the past and Baltimore would be a great fit for him to do that.
Henry’s Fit in Baltimore
Since the start of the offseason, Henry has seemed like a good fit for the Ravens.
Right now, the team has no clarity at the position because of their free agency situation and Keaton Mitchell’s recovery from a torn ACL.
Signing Henry would fix that.
The team has lacked a true bell-cow back for a while now.
J.K. Dobbins was supposed to be that guy when the Ravens drafted him, but his injury issues have stopped him from reaching that level and he is now a free agent.
Gus Edwards filled in well whenever Dobbins was unavailable over the last few years, but the team didn’t seem to view him as a true RB1 when they refused to give him the ball in the AFC Championship Game.
He is now also a free agent.
Henry could be the bell-cow back they’ve been missing and would pair well with Mitchell or even Dobbins if the Ravens bring him back.
The one obstacle that was really standing between the Ravens and Henry at the start of the offseason was money.
That shouldn’t be as much of an obstacle now that the salary cap got a big increase.
The Ravens have been one of football’s most run-heavy teams since they drafted Lamar Jackson.
This offseason they should get a running back that fits that approach.