-
Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The most productive running back in the NFL over the past decade will be joining the league's No. 1 rushing attack.
The Baltimore Ravens have signed Derrick Henry to a two-year, $16 million contract, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal could be worth up to $20 million, including $9 million guaranteed in the first year, people familiar with the matter told Schefter.
The deal pairs two-time NFL rushing champion and league's Most Valuable Player quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Ravens attempted to trade Henry before last year's trade deadline.
Henry, 30, has been available on the free agent market longer than expected. Before Henry joined Baltimore, 10 other free agent running backs had reached deals in the first two days of the NFL's negotiation period.
The Ravens, who led the NFL with 2,661 rushing yards last season, needed a starting running back with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both free agents. On Monday, Edwards agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Henry could ease the burden on Jackson, who has led the Ravens in rushing each of the past five seasons. In Jackson's six seasons, only one running back in Baltimore has rushed for more than 1,000 yards (Mark Ingram in 2019). Henry has rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of the past six seasons, including leading the NFL in 2019 and 2020.
The acquisition of Henry marks the Ravens' first major addition in free agency. Before signing Henry, the Ravens acquired Edwards (Chargers), safety Geno Stone (Bengals), wide receiver Devin Duvernay (Jaguars), guard John Simpson (Jets) and cornerback Ronald They had six free agents from Derby (Jaguars) signed elsewhere. ) and linebacker Delshawn Phillips (Texans).
Throughout his eight-year career at Tennessee, Henry solidified his place as one of the Titans' all-time greats. Only Eddie George (10,009) has more rushing yards than Henry's 9,502 in his career. Henry's 90 rushing touchdowns are tied with Hall of Fame running backs Curtis Martin and Eric Dickerson for 13th most rushing touchdowns.
The Titans agreed to a three-year contract with running back Tony Pollard on Monday, moving on from Henry.
Despite playing behind a poor offensive line, Henry finished second in the NFL with 1,167 rushing yards last season. He also added 12 rushing touchdowns. In Henry's final game of the 2023 season, he showed he still has some bright football left in his career, posting 153 yards rushing and 31.7 mph on the GPS.
In 2020, Henry was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Associated Press First-Team All-Pro after leading the NFL with a franchise-record 2,027 rushing yards, and was named FedEx Ground Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Ta. He became the eighth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season. His 2,027 rushing yards trail Dickerson's 2,105 yards (1984), Adrian Peterson's 2,097 yards (2012), Jamal Lewis' 2,066 yards (2003) and Barry Sanders' 2,053 yards (1997). , the fifth-highest total yardage in NFL history.
In 2021, Henry led the NFL with 937 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns through the first eight weeks of the season, but a foot injury derailed a potential second 2,000-yard rushing season. . Henry finished in the top 10 despite missing nine games.
Henry was selected to the Pro Bowl last season for the fourth time in his career. The Titans drafted him in the second round of the 2016 draft out of the University of Alabama. Henry won the Heisman Trophy in 2015 and helped Alabama win the national championship.
ESPN's Turon Davenport contributed to this report.
