Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel hopes the team will have running back Derrick Henry back for their Week 17 showdown with the Houston Texans.
The Titans game on Sunday had no impact on if the team would make or miss the playoffs and Vrabel did say that did factor into the team's decision to hold out Henry who was dealing with a hamstring injury.
Article Continues Below“I think that, first of all, nobody respects the effort that Derrick puts forward for this team [more than me], not only in the conditioning to get his body right, to be a runner that can withstand the pounding of an NFL season,” Vrabel said via the team's official website. “I fully understand what that toll and rigor is. You can only hope that it would help, and that’s why we made the decision that we made.”
Henry has been dealing with a hamstring injury for a few weeks so it made sense for the team to hold him out to try and get him closer to 100 percent for the game that really matters.
Henry still doesn't get as much attention as he should but he is one of the best running backs in the league. On the season Henry has rushed 271 times for 1,329 yards and 13 touchdowns.
If the Titans win against the Texans, they will be in the playoffs as the six seed. If they fall in that game they will need the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts to both lose to move onto the playoffs.