Free agent running back Derrick Henry is signing a two-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, the player confirmed on social media, boosting a rushing attack that was ranked first in the NFL last season. The $16m deal could be worth up to $20m, with $9m fully guaranteed in the first year with the Ravens, per multiple reports.
“Flock Nation I swea it’s up!,” Henry wrote on X.
Flock Nation I swea it’s up ! 💪🏾
— Derrick Henry (@KingHenry_2) March 12, 2024
The two-time NFL rushing champ joins a Baltimore team that annually produces one of the league’s leading ground games. The running back room was a major offseason concern for the Ravens, with Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins entering the offseason as free agents. Edwards agreed to a two-year, $6.5m deal with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
Henry, 30, is the Tennessee Titans’ all-time leader in touchdowns scored with 93 and is second in franchise history in rushing yards (9,502). He won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2020 when he ran for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns. He helped lead the Titans to the playoffs four times.
Henry was named to his fourth Pro Bowl in five years after leading the NFL in carries (280) in 17 games last season with the Titans. He rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns – his fifth season of more than 1,000 yards, including 2,027 in 2020 when he was named a first-team All-Pro.
The Titans signalled they were moving on from Henry when they agreed to a three-year, $24m contract with former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard on Monday.
In Baltimore, Henry will team up with Lamar Jackson, forging one of the most formidable backfield tandems in the league. The Ravens led the league in rushing attempts per game, rushing yards per game and yards per carry in 2023. Adding Henry will help ease some of the burden on Jackson, a two-time league MVP, as a runner. The Ravens had attempted to trade for the running back before last season’s trade deadline, but could not come to terms with Tennessee.
The Ravens finished with the NFL’s best regular-season record in 2023 before losing to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.
Elsewhere in the NFL, running back Aaron Jones agreed to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings after being released by the Green Bay Packers on Monday, while the Cincinnati Bengals traded running back Joe Mixon to the Houston Texans for a late-round pick.
