Like many top running backs around the NFL, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has been outspoken about the declining market for players at his position.
Henry was outspoken on social media earlier this month and continued to speak out for running backs after practice on Friday.
“It’s tough right now,” Henry said, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “We’re just trying to show that we are as valuable as any other position. They use us in commercials and all over the place. We just want our share.”
“It seems like even if we are productive, when it comes to negotiating, it’s kind of like used against us at that point,” he added.
But Henry hasn’t just been talking the talk, he’s also walking the walk.
The Alabama product said he was the one who organized the call with several other running backs in order to discuss the current state of a position that has been devalued, especially in recent years.
And the running back market has only gotten more attention this offseason after franchise-tagged players like Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard all failed to nail down long-term contracts.
On top of getting fellow backs together via the call, Henry would also like to start something similar to the “Tight End University” players like George Kittle and Travis Kelce have started.
“There’s so many legendary RBs to have, so much knowledge,” he said. “If we were able to start something like that and just have, like, a weekend, a couple of days to suck up that knowledge from those guys and their experiences, I think that’d be great.”
Henry is entering the final year of his own contract in 2023, a deal that paid him an annual average of $12.5 million when first signed. When asked about his own situation, Henry doesn’t feel like he’s been underpaid.
“I don’t think so much underpaid, I just think that the market’s going down,” he said, per Paul Kuharsky. “So I just think guys who have been playing at a high level — playing at an elite level — the game is based off production, and if you’ve been productive at a high level consistently, then I think you should get your share due. You see these other positions that, you hear about the superstars who have been productive, playing at a high level — some of the best in the league — they’re getting these big contracts and getting their share due. And as a running back, we want the same thing.
