Derrick Henry is staying put, and that appears to close the door on one of the most talked-about names ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday morning that the Ravens are not making Henry available, even with rumors building around Baltimore’s rough season and Lamar Jackson’s injuries. Schefter also said the Ravens have told Henry directly that he will not be traded.
That immediately takes Henry off the board after he had emerged as one of the most intriguing possible trade pieces in the league.
The Patriots were reportedly among the teams with interest, and the fit made plenty of sense on paper. Henry started his career with the Tennessee Titans and played under Mike Vrabel, which only added fuel to the speculation.
Part of the appeal was the contract. Henry is in the final year of his deal, and Baltimore has already paid out all of his guaranteed money along with most of his cap hit for the season. That made him the kind of deadline target a team could chase without a massive financial commitment.
In theory, a team like New England could have sent a fourth- or fifth-round pick for eight games of Henry and taken on an approximate $600,000 cap hit. For a back with Henry’s track record as one of the NFL’s most productive power runners over the last eight years, that would have been a bargain. It also would have come without any long-term strings if the team viewed him as a short-term postseason addition.
With Henry unavailable, the Patriots may simply stay the course in their backfield. New England has been linked to possible help at running back, especially with TreVeyon Henderson’s status unclear entering Tuesday, but Vrabel is high on Rhamondre Stevenson. And at the moment, the bigger issue in New England appears to be the offensive line rather than the running back room.
So for now, Stevenson could remain the lead back, and the Henry chase is over before it ever really got going.
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Injuries only added to the frustration as the game wore on, with several key Patriots leaving before the final whistle. Ben Brown, Will Campbell, Carlton Davis, Brenden Schooler and Rhamondre Stevenson all exited, leaving the team to sort through both the loss itself and the uncertainty that followed it. For a roster trying to steady itself in the middle of the season, it was the kind of road trip that forces a hard reset. [Read more 🡒]