After a quiet first day of the legal tampering period for the Baltimore Ravens, the organization started the second day with a big move.
For weeks fans have been expecting the team to sign Derrick Henry to be their next starting running back.
As more and more running backs found new homes in free agency, including former Ravens RB Gus Edwards, the move continued to look more likely.
On March 12, it was finally revealed that they had agreed to a deal with the former NFL rushing leader.
Henry and the Ravens agreed to a two-year deal worth at least $16 million that could get up to $20 million.
The move is big news for a Ravens team that was in need of a move at running back, but it seems one of their stars ended up having to wait like the rest of us to hear the news despite having played alongside Henry in college.
After the moved was announced, star Ravens corner Marlon Humphrey posted to social media to ask why Henry didn’t tell him about this when they were texting each other a day earlier.
Henry and Humphrey spent a couple of seasons playing together at Alabama before going on to become stars in the NFL.
Derrick Henry’s Dominance With the Titans
There are few running backs in the NFL that have reached the heights Henry did at his peak.
During the best seasons of his career, Henry was the top dog in the league at the position and there arguably wasn’t even a close second.
In 2019, Henry led the league in rushing yards with 1540 and in rushing touchdowns with 16. He also did it while averaging an impressive 5.1 yards per carry.
The following year he reached a legendary level. In 2020 Henry became the eighth player in NFL history to run for more than 2000 yards in a season. He also led the league with 17 touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.
He was on pace for another monster year in 2021 before a foot injury derailed his season. Henry only needed eight games to run for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Henry returned at full strength the next year and continued to put up gaudy numbers. He ran for 1538 yards and 13 touchdowns.
This past year, his numbers actually dipped a bit in a bad Titans offense, but he still managed to go over 1000 yards once again.
Now he’ll become the newest weapon for a Ravens offense that was revamped in 2023.
Fixing the Ravens’ Playoff Mistake
The Ravens entered the 2023 NFL playoffs with high expectations.
They had finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record with an offense that was top five in scoring and a defense that allowed the league’s least points.
The Ravens also had the NFL’s MVP in Lamar Jackson.
Unfortunately, it entirely fell on him to make the offense work in a matchup against a tough Chiefs defense in the AFC Championship Game.
Despite the Chiefs’ strength against the pass, the Ravens never really tried to get their run game going.
Edwards only had three carries after averaging 11.6 per game during the regular season. The only other running back who got a carry was Justice Hill, who also had three.
That lack of a run game was seen as a big reason why the offense struggled in the loss.
They won’t have that problem in 2024.
The Ravens’ run game should be elite next season with Jackson and Henry and now they’ll be able to take some pressure off of Jackson in big matchups.
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Derrick Henry Didn’t Tell College Teammate They Were Reuniting on the Ravens