The Titans Are Reportedly Listening To Offers For Derrick Henry And Might Be Entering A Full-Blown Reload

What are we doing here? Is this the beginning of the end of the current Titans era as we know it? The Titans fired Jon Robinson and brought Ran Carthon (very cool name) over from the 49ers to assume GM duties. He's off to a hot start and there are already some massive decisions to be made. Is it too soon to call the AJ Brown trade a huge mistake? Here's to hoping Carthon can avoid making the wrong move this offseason. 

Let's start from the top: who the hell is playing quarterback for the Titans in 2023? It's the most important position on the field and this question's been looming for a while now. Will they bring Ryan Tannehill back? Tannehill is gonna be 35 and he's entering the final year of his four year contract. He's also a heavy cap hit and their offensive line needs work. Should the Titans roll the dice at quarterback and release him, they could save significant money in the process. 

This isn't to say there's not a worthy replacement already on the roster. As a shameless Joshua Dobbs and Tennessee Vol fan, I personally think they hand him the reins. Whether or not they splurge on another QB in the draft is really a non-issue from there. That would potentially free up enough cap space to pay Henry for one more year then figure it out from there. Dobbs looked mobile when he needed to be and poised enough in the pocket when he stepped in last season - imagine what he could do with a little OL help. 

For whatever it's worth I also hate giving up on a young QB after one year of limited sample size. Malik Willis just didn't quite seem ready and I think Dobbs is their best/most economical option for 2023 while they reassess and settle in with some new front office personnel. 

Anyways, today's news that they may or may not be moving Derrick Henry confirms that the Titans are trimming the expensive guys and starting over. To simplify things, they'd save around $6 million if they cut ties with Henry and upwards of $27 million depending on if/when they release Tannehill. If you're truly throwing a stick of dynamite in and starting from scratch, these are decent chunks of cash for a rebuild. 

Expert draft analyst of Barstool Sports Steven Cheah predicts Paris Johnson from Ohio State being the first OL off the board to the Titans at 11 overall. With the departure of Taylor Lewan and the fact that Steven Cheah was the most accurate mock drafter last year, this all checks out and fills a void in Nashville, especially if someone new is taking the snaps next season. 

Derrick Henry has been the primary workhorse in Nashville for a good while now, steady and reliable. He led the league in carries in 2020 and his workload has been borderline concerning up through last season. He's 29 which is archaic in NFL RB years, and you worry about the mileage with that many carries. He's also a certified brick shithouse so he doesn't necessarily take as many blows as he does give them. He's more or less a linebacker with freakshow speed at 6'3" 247 lbs. Even still, there's a finite amount of touches in there and it's just a matter of whether or not he's still on the upward inflection of his career bellcurve or has it reached the downslope. 

If the Titans are without Derrick Henry next season the next in line as it stands would likely be Dontrell Hilliard and Hassan Haskins, barring a trade or a rookie entering the mix. To put this into perspective, Henry ran 349 times for 1,538 yards last season. Hilliard and Haskins combined for a total of 47 carries. We know how much Vrabel loves to pound the pill, but I'm not sure these two guys are gonna fit into that scheme the way Henry does.

As a lifelong diehard fan, I'm not sure how I feel about Derrick Henry wearing anything but Titans blue, it'd be a shock to the system. It's already uncertain at quarterback, I'm not sure where the Titans offense would turn without 200-300+ carries from King Henry. 



 

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