Derrick Henry Tells Doubters to 'Keep Watching' After Ravens Contract in 2024 NFL FA

Running back Derrick Henry hasn't yet eclipsed the 2,027 rushing yards he racked up during his 2020 All-Pro season with the Tennessee Titans, but he believes his best days have yet to come.

When asked Thursday he would say to people who believe his career has already peaked, Henry said, "Tell them to keep watching," per ESPN's Jamison Hensley.

"People always going to have something to say, always going to have opinions," Henry said at his first press conference as a Baltimore Raven. "I'm just ready to work, ready to get things started and do my best to help this organization."

Henry is joining the Ravens on a two-year, $16 million contract, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The eight-year Titan led the NFL in rushing attempts for the season straight season in 2023.

Henry turned 30 in the final week of the 2023 season.

At that age, most NFL running backs see a sharp decline in usage. Only 16 running backs have started a game since turning 30 in the past five seasons, compared to 146 offensive linemen starting a game over the same span, according to Nick Suss of The Tennessean.

Concerns over Henry's age are exacerbated by his heavy usage in Tennessee. Henry led the league in carries for four of the last five seasons, something the Titans seemed aware of as they limited how many snaps he played early last season, per The Tennessean's Nick Gray.

But the Ravens are expecting Henry to beat those positional trends.

"We're talking about a guy who has missed very little time in his career. He's kind of a unicorn, to be honest," Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Thursday, per BaltimoreRavens.com. "His combination of speed, power, durability... Those kind of guys are rare. We've had some here in Baltimore. They're just different from everybody else, and I think Derrick's a good example of that."

DeCosta added that the Ravens were so set on Henry that they attempted to trade for the four-time All-Star before the deadline last season. Cole Jackson of BaltimoreRavens.com reported in October that a potential deal between the Ravens and Titans was "vetoed" by Titans ownership.

"I thought there was a reasonable chance that we would get a trade done. It didn't work out," DeCosta said. "You evaluate the tape. You watch the player. You see the history of the player. You talk to people who have been around the player. It made all the sense in the world for us to target Derrick."

In eight years as a running back, Henry has missed just 12 of 131 possible regular-season games. Most of those absences came when he was sidelined for nine games with a fractured foot in 2021.

Henry said his durability has been in part because of his ability to "be a sponge" around older veterans. Two examples of players he looks up to include LaDainian Tomlinson and Fred Taylor, according to Suss.