Opinion: There's no replacing Derrick Henry, but Tennessee Titans must try
INDIANAPOLIS ā Well, that's a quick end to such a promising Tennessee Titans season.
Thatās what youāre thinking, isnāt it? How could you not?
Derrick Henry is one of two players ā Ryan Tannehill being the other ā that the Titans can't afford to be without long-term and be the same team, a team that until Monday had growing hopes to contend for the NFLās big prizes this season.
For the 6-2 Titans, who'd won four in a row and started the week No. 1 in the AFC, Monday morningās news of Henryās potentially season-ending foot injury was a cruelly devastating blow.
Iām sorry, Titans fans. Thereās just no other way to say it. Thereās not another Henry. Thereās no replacing that guy and everything he means to his team.
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But the Titans are going to have to try.
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Theyāll have to transform their identity as a run-heavy offense into one thatāll lean on Tannehill and the passing game and A.J. Brown and Julio Jones.
Theyāll also have to move quickly to make sure third-down specialist Jeremy McNichols isnāt the featured option in a backfield that unfortunately had Darrynton Evans go back on injured reserve last week.
OK, itās bad. Real bad. Goes without saying, and thereās no getting around it.
So what now?
Are there small traces of a silver lining for the Titans? Yes. One is in the timing. This happened just before the NFLās trade deadline Tuesday, which allows the Titans to move quickly to try to land a Melvin Gordon or Marlon Mack or Ronald Jones or David Johnson or some other potentially available running back to step into the largest shoes in the NFL. Adrian Peterson is also set to work out for the team, NFL Network reported Monday.
None of these running backs will be Henry, of course.
Henry has joked about his bumps and bruises after games, saying that he hides it well. Thatās certainly true. He had 28 carries against the Colts on Sunday. Presumably, that was after he broke his foot.
While he clearly wasnāt himself, Henry toughed it out anyway. In doing so, his presence drew attention from the Colts and helped Brown record 10 catches for 155 receiving yards and lead the Titans to an important comeback victory in overtime.
That's normal for Henry. He has been so relentlessly durable that a serious injury just hasnāt felt possible, because itād finally be the thing to prove how human he really is after all.
During Sunday's game, Henry fumbled for the first time this season. It happened on his 199th carry. Ridiculous.
The Titans were deploying him at a rate far higher than any other running back in the league. Too much, youād think. And maybe so. But itās Derrick Henry. Iād long ago stopped assuming what he couldnāt do.
Best to keep that in mind this time, too.
Itās obviously early and thereās much we donāt know about the specifics. In the early waves of media reports about this foot injury, Foxās Jay Glazer said Henry broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot.
Along those same lines, NFL Networkās Ian Rapoport didn't quite rule Henry out for the season. He said on the air that there's a chance Henry "could return real late in the season if the Titans make a run.ā
I wouldnāt bet against Henry.
Iām not sure Iād start betting against the Titans yet, either, even though their odds in 2021 are a lot longer Monday morning than they were Sunday night.