Titans running back Derrick Henry missed the second half of the 2021 regular season after breaking his foot and didn’t have a great game in their playoff loss to the Bengals upon returning to action.
While Henry had been on pace for another massive season before his injury, those two developments were enough for some to ask whether the mileage Henry has picked up over six seasons in the NFL will lead to diminishing returns in the future.
The Titans don’t appear to think that’s the case. They gave him a raise last week and Henry said on Thursday that he’s raring to get back on the field against the Giants this weekend.
“I am just hungry,” Henry said, via the team website. “I can’t worry about [what people say]. I am just focused on what I need to do. I am hungry, and I am ready to go. I want to get better and I want to help my teammates get better. I am focused on Sunday. . . . I just take it all in and get ready until that ball is snapped. It is all the feels in Week One, first game. So, there will be a lot of hype going on but just get ready and get settled in and get ready to play.”
Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale made it clear that he’s not one of Henry’s doubters this week when he compared the back to Jim Brown. If his defense can’t do something to make that feel like a reach, the Titans’ chances of winning will be pretty good.
