Derrick Henry to team up with Lamar Jackson at Baltimore Ravens

Free agent running back Derrick Henry will sign a two-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, the player confirmed on social media, boosting a rushing attack that ranked first in the NFL last season. The $16 million deal could be worth up to $20 million, with a full $9 million guaranteed in the first year with the Ravens, according to multiple reports.

“Flock Nation, I swear the time has come!”, Henry wrote on X.

The two-time NFL champion joins a Baltimore team that annually produces one of the league’s premier 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, $6.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.

Henry, 30, is the Tennessee Titans’ all-time leader in touchdowns with 93 points 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 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 with the Titans last season. He rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns – his fifth season of over 1,000 yards, including 2,027 in 2020 when he was named first-team All-Pro.

The Titans indicated they would move on from Henry when they agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract with the former Dallas Cowboys on Monday to replace Tony Pollard.

In Baltimore, Henry will team up with Lamar Jackson and forge 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 ease some of the burden on Jackson, a two-time league MVP, as a runner. The Ravens had tried to trade for the running back before last season’s trade deadline, but were unable to reach an agreement 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 contract 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 round. .