General
Before signing a two-year, $30 million contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, running back Derrick Henry worked out – on 30 minutes of sleep.
Flight delays from his home in Dallas to his home in Baltimore put the former Alabama All-American way behind schedule for Monday’s signing.
“I just had some flight trouble,” Henry said at a Monday press conference. “Bad weather in Dallas, and the flight got a little delayed, so I got in really late. Once I got in, it was almost time to get here. I think I got home at 4:45 in the morning, and I wanted to get here at 6, so I thought, ‘I’m just going to stay up and just get here and go work out.’”
Henry’s dedication to his physical fitness comes from his determination “to outwork everybody.”
“I want to be great,” Henry said, “so no matter how good it is or no matter how bad it is, I’m always focused on trying to get better each and every day and each and every way I can. For you to be great, you’ve got to focus on being consistent. You’ve got to outwork everybody, and that’s the approach I try to take every single day I wake up. Even the days you don’t want to, you’ve got to find a way.”
The Ravens signed Henry to a two-year, $16 million contract as an NFL free agent after the running back turned 30 last year. Henry responded with 1,921 rushing yards, the most in a season for a player 30 years old or older in NFL history.
“I think if you watch his work ethic,” Ravens running-backs coach Willie Taggert said on Monday, “and you see the way he works on and off the field, how he takes care of his body and then just to watch him out there, you don’t see a downside. He’s still getting stronger, if you ask me. But the way that he works, and then the performance, if you look at the performance he had last year – one of his better years, and that’s nine years in — that’s big time.
“But Derrick works hard. It’s important to him. He told you guys a minute ago he wants to win Super Bowl, and I know he’s going to do everything he can to help this football team accomplish that.”
After eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans that ended with a 3-14 showing in 2023, Henry said the Ravens were helping him stay young.
“Being able to play alongside a player like (quarterback) Lamar (Jackson), the best player in the league, it was just dynamic and a lot of fun,” Henry said. “There’s a lot of young guys on the offense and on this team, so I feel like they give me youth and give me a lot of energy. Last year, it was a lot of fun. We accomplished winning the division, got into the playoffs, but ultimately, we came up short, so it’s a lot of fuel that should go into this season. Guys should be motivated — they are motivated — and hungry to get ready for the next one.”
Henry has run for 11,423 yards and 106 touchdowns on 2,355 carries in his career. He’s 19th on the NFL career rushing list, and 1,316 yards from reaching the No. 10 ball-carrier, Tony Dorsett.
“When you say something like that, it’s a surreal moment to be able to have that opportunity and be in that conversation,” Henry said about his standing among the NFL’s best running backs. “God has blessed me tremendously, and since I was 5 years old, I fell in love with this game. Playing this position, I always looked up to the great running backs who played this game at a high level, who are legends of the game, dreaming of my name being mentioned with them one day. For me to somewhat have that opportunity, it’s so surreal, and God is so good. I’ve had a lot of people throughout my life to help me get to this point.”
Only five NFL players have more rushing touchdowns than Henry’s career total of 106. Henry has had at least 10 rushing touchdowns in seven consecutive seasons. The only player with a longer such streak is LaDainian Tomlinson with nine in a row from 2001 through 2009.
Eight players have rushed for at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns at 31 years old or older, with John Riggins doing so twice. Only one of those nine performances has occurred in the past 15 seasons, with Rakeem Mostert breaking through for the Miami Dolphins in 2023.
Mostert ran for 278 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. Baltimore is counting on Henry holding form for at least two more seasons.
The extension ties Henry to the Ravens through the 2027 season, with what has become a three-year, $37 million deal since the running back already was under contract for the 2025 season.
Henry has gone from $8 million for the 2025 season to $25 million over the next two seasons by signing the extension. After the 2026 season, the new deal calls for Henry to get a $1 million roster bonus and an $11 million salary in 2027, but none of that money is guaranteed. His paychecks for the next two seasons, including an $11.745 million signing bonus, are guaranteed.
“I’m just very grateful for this organization,” Henry said. “Just like last year, coming off the season I had, I wasn’t really happy, and I wanted to prove myself and just get an opportunity. And they gave me the opportunity. I’m very appreciative of how much they value me, to give me an extension, and I just want to show them how much it means to me, how much this organization means to me by the way I work and what I do on the field.”
Henry also had 270 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries in two playoff games last season. The Ravens’ season ended with a 27-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills during which Henry ran for 84 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.
“You never get over it,” Henry said. “You just deal with it, because that’s just what it is. When you get the opportunity again, you try to make it a different outcome, especially on my part and how I play. I think everybody who is on this team feels that same way, but I think you’ve got to put the work in for that to be able to happen. And then when we’re all here, we push each other, hold each other accountable and make each other better, so when we’re on that field, it all comes together, and we all get what we want at the end of the day. …
“I always think I can do my job a lot better than I did last season. The saying is, ‘You’re only as good as your last game,’ and I don’t think my last game was up to par to my standard. I think when I’m in that position again, just play better. But right now, I’m just focused on getting better, improving, getting stronger, working on my weaknesses and improving things that I’m good at to be able to help his team and be better than I was last year just so that we’re better.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
Read More
