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The Baltimore Ravens have always had an emphasis on physicality and the running game, although they went away from that in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs. This offseason they will be looking t0 improve at the position, and former Ravens QB Robert Griffin III believes they should be going after Derrick Henry.
Griffin posted on X, “There is only one place for him to go. Derrick Henry should be a Baltimore Raven because he already Plays like a Raven.”
The Ravens have been linked to Henry since the beginning of the 2023 season and were named amongst the favorite to sign the star RB now that his contract has ended with the Tennessee Titans.
Griffin wrote, “Derrick Henry plays with physicality, is relentless in his preparation and has a clear passion to get over the hump to play for a championship.”
Joining the Ravens would give Henry another shot at Super Bowl contention.
Derrick Henry Still Has Plenty Left in the Tank
Henry just turned 30 years old, which is an age that running backs usually decline prior to but has shown only minor signs of slowing down.
The former Titan has been one of the most dominant backs since he entered the league in 2016. This season he continued his bell cow pedigree with 1,167 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns on another league leading 280 attempts.
Henry was named to his fourth Pro Bowl this season and had the second highest rushing yards in the NFL.
Henry does have a ton of mileage on his legs as he has led the league in rush attempts four out of his eight seasons (and was on his way before an injury in 2021).
Despite all that, Henry still graded out as the third best running back in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus at 90.2. The grade is the second best in his career, which he set in 2020 with a 92.4 during his Offensive Player of the Year season.
Part of the reason could be the Titans decreased his snap percentage this season to 53%. So, while he still had a league leading number of attempts, the Titans saved his legs on other offensive plays.
Following this strategy the Ravens could former a deadly combo of Henry and either Keaton Mitchell or Justice Hill.
The Ravens only had six rush attempts by running backs in the AFC Championship and another 10 carries between QB Lamar Jackson and WR Zay Flowers. If they were to add the “King” that would be unlikely to occur with him in the backfield.
Ravens Current Running Back Room Needs an Upgrade
The Ravens running back room could look very different heading into the 2024 season. Besides Mitchell, who is coming off a major injury, much of the room is in flux.
Starter J.K. Dobbins is a free agent coming off an Achilles injury and the Ravens may look for a significant upgrade. Gus Edwards filled in superbly for Dobbins but will also be a free agent and entering his age 29 season for the upcoming year.
Hill is currently on the roster but was highlighted as a potential cut candidate to open up some space. That raises the potential obstacle for the Ravens to sign the dynamic Henry.
The Ravens only have $7.3 million in cap space according to OverTheCap. Spotrac’s market value tool gives Henry a projected value of 1-year, $10.3 million.
General manager Eric DeCosta will need to make moves to open up more cap space if he plans to address key free agents and bring in a star RB.
If Baltimore can make the numbers work, they should do everything they can to bring Henry in make a strong running game even better.
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