Vikings Listed as Potential Landing Spot for Future HOF Running Back
After eight seasons, Derrick Henry has almost certainly played his final snap in a Tennessee Titans uniform. The 30-year-old future Hall of Famer is looking for a new team in free agency. Could he end up in Minnesota?
At first glance, it sounds a bit far-fetched. With all of their needs, would the Vikings really spend their money on a free agent running back with a ton of tread on his tires? Then again, they could benefit from improving a running game that has struggled mightily in the first two seasons of the Kevin O'Connell era. Depending on his price, Henry — who remained productive last season at age 29 — might be an intriguing short-term option for the Vikings.
PFF's Brad Spielberger recently listed the Vikings and Ravens as potential landing spots for Henry this offseason.
Minnesota’s rushing attack was one of the least efficient across the NFL this past season, and they may also be looking to bring along a young quarterback whether or not they keep Kirk Cousins in the fold. This front office may not be viewed as one very likely to pay top dollar to the running back position, especially after they sharply moved on from Dalvin Cook before the 2023 season, but maybe there’s enough of a buy-low opportunity here on Henry.
Henry is a four-time Pro Bowler and the 2020 NFL offensive player of the year. He's 36th all-time in rushing yards (9.502) and tied for 13th in rushing touchdowns (90), putting him on track to reach Canton with a few more productive seasons. His numbers last year fell off a bit from his peak 2019-2022 run, but it would be hasty to call him washed at this point. Henry still put up 12 TDs and nearly 1,400 total yards on a struggling Titans offense. More notably, his 90.2 PFF grade trailed only Christian McCaffrey among running backs with at least 150 carries. The Vikings' Alexander Mattison ranked 36th out of 37 in that department with a 61.8 grade.
For Henry to make sense for the Vikings, he'd have to come at a somewhat reasonable price. At 30 years old and coming off a slightly down season, maybe he would. There are younger marquee options in this year's free agent RB class, including Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, and Austin Ekeler. The counter to that idea is that he's Derrick freaking Henry. He probably isn't signing a cheap deal.
PFF's contract projection for Henry is two years, $20 million, with $13 million guaranteed. My thinking is the Vikings might be more interested if that AAV was closer to $7 or 8 million.
A more realistic free agent RB option for the Vikings might be Devin Singletary, who Spielberger also floated as a potential Minnesota target in his article. The 26-year-old is coming off a strong year with the Texans after four seasons with the Bills. Interestingly, Singletary has had between 950 and 1,100 total yards in all five of his NFL seasons.
The Vikings are going to add a running back in some form or fashion, and perhaps they continue to deploy a committee approach with lower-cost options instead of making a bigger splash.
PFF projects a three-year, $12.75 million contract for Singletary, with $8.5 million guaranteed. That could make plenty of sense for the Vikings, who would pair him with Ty Chandler and Mattison in their backfield.
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