Henry: 'I'll Be Ready to Go'
NASHVILLE – Derrick Henry either does not know or does not care about showmanship.
The Tennessee Titans running back opted not to let the drama regarding his health build Thursday when he conducted his regular weekly media session. Instead, he set the stage for what everyone hopes will be the latest sequel in what has become one of the NFL’s most successful running dramas.
“I’ll be ready to go,” he said. “When Sunday comes, I’ll be ready to go.”
Henry has been the leading attraction during the Titans’ run of six wins in seven games that lifted them into a first-place tie with the Houston Texans, their opponent Sunday at Nissan Stadium. He has rushed for at least 100 yards and one touchdown in four straight games and already has set career-highs with 1,243 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns on the season. As a team, Tennessee is eighth in the league in rushing offense and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns. Henry is second to Cleveland’s Nick Chubb in the race for the rushing title.
That surge has, however exacted a toll. Henry showed up on the injury report for the first time in Week 13 with a hamstring issue. That was after his 159-yard, two-touchdown performance against Jacksonville, the second game in his current streak.
Since then, the issue appears to have gotten worse. He was a limited participant in two workouts and a full participant in the third following the victory over the Jaguars. Last week he sat out Wednesday’s workout, was limited on Thursday and a full participant on Friday. Then, he carried the ball just 18 times against Oakland and received treatment on the sideline during the game.
His longest run against the Raiders was 24 yards, and four days later he did not dismiss the notion that – at full health – he could have made more of that particular play.
“I was just trying to be nice,” he joked.
A short time later, he sat out the day’s practice just as he did a day earlier. That makes this week the first this season in which he has not been involved on either day.
“As long as I am in the meetings and watching film, if I get a little bit of work, I think I’ll be fine,” he said.
It remains to be seen what – if anything – he does Friday.
Coach Mike Vrabel has talked often in recent weeks about managing players’ practice time to ensure each gets to the end of the regular season as healthy as possible. Henry’s workload is now being closely monitored.
“That’s our job,” Vrabel said. “That’s their job as a professional to be ready mentally with limited reps. If he can take more reps, then we’ll give him more reps. … There’s a fine line with the amount of players that we have, and the amount of snaps that we play on Sunday that we get them ready for the game the next week.”
And Henry made it clear that the next one is one he fully intends to play.
“A big game,” he said. “That’s what you play the game for – games like this. A big opportunity.”
