John Harbaugh said Ravens have ‘had our hands full trying to stop’ Derrick Henry, ‘fired up’ to coach him

In the four regular season games where he has faced the Baltimore Ravens, running back Derrick Henry has 55 carries for 277 yards and three touchdowns. Henry helped the Tennessee Titans defeat the Ravens, 28-12, in the divisional round during the 2019 season, rushing for 195 yards in the playoff win.

After years of trying to stop King Henry, head coach John Harbaugh will now have him on his sideline, after the 30-year-old signed a two-year contract with Baltimore. Harbaugh says he is happy to be adding a dynamic player to his backfield.

At the 2024 NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, Harbaugh said when they were analyzing and deciding whether to bring Henry in or not, it was how he played against the Ravens in the past that showed them just how much he can bring to an offense. 

“Well, it’s a big buzz, big guy and a big player,” Harbaugh said (via NFL.com). “He has a great personality and loves football. We played against him all those years. When you play against a guy, you earn respect for a guy, and we’ve had our hands full trying to stop him. So, it kind of speaks to us. How we want to play and approach the game, so I’m fired up to have him.”

The head coach recalled Henry playing against the Ravens in London last season, when the running back averaged 8.1 yards per carry, with 97 yards, a touchdown and a long of 63 yards. Long plays against your defense “sting and they stay singing for a long time” Harbaugh said, adding that “you don’t forget those things.”

“Well, defensively, he’s just real football,” Harbaugh said. “There’s one thing to have a reputation, it’s another thing to have the challenge of defending him. Just the fact that you have to tackle him. If he gets a head of steam, whether it’s in the ‘A’ gap or outside … So, we respect him, and he’s going to help us.”

Harbaugh noted the various ways they can beat opposing defenses, beginning with his quarterback Lamar Jackson’s ability to be a dual threat.

“People talk about attacking the full width of the field, especially in the run game,” Harbaugh said. “You could do it in the pass game too or extend some runs or call them screens and things like that. These are all things Lamar is so good at. Lamar does it by throwing the ball. He could do it by reading the defense and keeping it or going a different way. We could take the back, and Lamar could go vertical.”

Harbaugh continued, saying Henry is someone who…