Derrick Henry will collect a bit more money than expected this season. The Titans authorized a $2MM raise for the two-time rushing champion, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Tennessee is taking $2MM off Henry’s 2023 salary, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter), bumping his 2022 wages from $12MM to $14MM. Thursday’s agreement does not change Henry’s contractual timeline, however. He remains signed through the 2023 season.
This raise is contingent on Henry’s availability, but it also will provide cash to the All-Pro sooner in the form of a $9MM signing bonus, Florio adds. This popular restructure will create cap space for the Titans, who have dropped Henry’s 2022 base salary from $12MM to $4MM. The other $1MM in the $2MM bump will be available through gameday roster bonuses, which will only pay out if Henry is active for Tennessee contests. Henry missed nine of those last season.
This does set up the possibility of 2022 being Henry’s final year on his current deal. Should the bulldozing back re-emerge from his injury-abbreviated 2021 season with another strong year, the Titans may end up rewarding him again. This restructure also stands to make it more difficult for the Titans to move on from Henry in 2023. Prior to Thursday’s reworking, the Titans would have only incurred $3MM in dead money by releasing Henry. A higher charge would come from such a transaction now. Henry’s 2023 cap hit also will rise from its previous $15.5MM place.
The prospect of a new Henry deal emerged earlier this offseason. His current pact (four years, $50MM; agreed to at the 2020 franchise tag deadline) is not exactly out of step with the slow-moving (at the top, at least) running back market, but Florio adds the thinking behind this move is a third Henry contract could come to pass before next season.
A discussion on releasing Henry next year is obviously premature, but running back declines happen earlier than they do at just about every other position. The Jones fracture the former Heisman winner suffered derailed a monster season — one in which he still finished in the top 10 in rushing yards despite the two-month absence — and does invite questions about his future form. Henry will turn 29 before season’s end.
More to come.