The Baltimore Ravens look to have their best offensive season in recent memory this year as they upgraded the running back room in a huge way with the addition of star Derrick Henry. However, there is always concerns with a running back who has turned 30 years old which Henry did last January, but that does not seem to be an issue for the productive player and the team that signed him this past off-season.
Running backs have had an interesting life span in terms of how long a player can keep the production stable as they suffer one of the worst wear and tear out of anybody on the field. On the other hand, Henry believes that it is a “stigma” for people to believe once a running back reaches 30, their respective careers are at a decline, a phenomenon that the former Tennessee Titan looks to prove the opposite according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
“That's always going to be said when a running back gets up in age, the stigma on the position,” Henry said. “But I just focus on me being healthy, doing my job when I'm here and then let my play speak for my age.”
Henry not worried about workload catching up to him with Ravens
In terms of the age factor, it has hit some great players at the position in a negative way as there have only been three players who have rushed for 1,000 yards or more this decade that are 30 or older which has been Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, and Raheem Mostert, currently on the Miami Dolphins. Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal with Baltimore where last season, he had 1,167 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns.
There is no doubt that Henry is ready for practice with pads to happen fairly soon as after there was a session Monday filled with rain, he was asked if he is ready for full contact to be initiated which he said “Hell yeah, but the pads will be on pretty soon.” While he had a successful season as shown with his statistics before, he did have 68.6 rushing yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry which were his lowest since 2018, possibly showing that the monstrous workload could catch up to Henry, but he expressed that he is not trying “to worry about that.”
“I feel good. I don't really try to worry about that,” Henry said. “It's kind of funny. Ever since high school sometimes I got 56 [carries] in the game, 57 the next week. In college, it was 44, 46. In the NFL, it was 30, 35. I really think it's just your mindset, how you take care of your body and not get too caught on ‘he say, she say.' If it works and you feel good, just keep working and keep doing what you do.”
Ravens talks being with his new team after eight seasons with Titans
There is no denying that Henry was a workhorse and bell cow for the Titans who had the running back lead the NFL in carries four times where the only other person to lead the league in carries for more than that was Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown, who did it six times. Still, Henry does join a Ravens team that usually has a carousel of running backs where this season, they also have Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell.
It is very possible that Henry has a great season without having to lead the league in carries, especially how a lot of the rushing attack can come from the quarterback in Lamar Jackson. The Ravens have time and time again been so close to their ultimate goals and they believe that Henry can be that player that takes them over that proverbial hump. So far, the organization has been “everything that I imagined” according to Henry per Sports Illustrated.
“I don't want to get too much in no possibilities, but it's everything that I imagined,” Henry said. “The work here, the culture the brotherhood that [the Ravens] have. [I'm] grateful to be here. [I'm] excited for the opportunity. Putting the work in now in training camp, just so the things that we want to happen will happen, but not getting to any possibilities or making any predictions. [We] just put the work in now and let it all come together when it's time to suit up and go get some ‘dubs.'”
Ravens teammate calls Henry a “physical specimen”
There have been a bevy of players to come out and praise Henry for what he has done in the NFL so far and what he can continue to provide the Ravens for the future. One of those teammates is Baltimore's outside linebacker in Odafe Oweh who called Henry a “physical specimen.”
“He's a physical specimen,” Oweh said. “He looks like he could play defensive end. I'm excited about what he can bring to the team. I'm just happy he's on our side, for real.”
Henry and Ravens share the same goal for next season
In his career, the University of Alabama product is a four-time Pro Bowler, won two rushing titles, and even was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. At the end of the day, there is only one goal for the Ravens and Henry and it is that aforementioned proverbial hump which is winning a Super Bowl, the first for the franchise since 2013. This was even something that the star running back said specifically after Monday's practice.
“Super Bowl,” Henry said. “That's always been the goal, but Super Bowl is definitely where I'm at now.”
Baltimore is looking to build off their relatively impressive season where they went 13-4 and captured the No. 1 seed, but ended the year in disappointing fashion as they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, 17-10. They look to redeem themselves this upcoming season where funny enough, they start by facing the Chiefs in the opening contest on Thursday, Sept. 5.
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