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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The NFL’s most productive running back over the past decade will join the league’s No. 1 rushing attack.
The Baltimore Ravens reached a two-year, $16 million agreement with Derrick Henry, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal could be worth up to $20 million, including $9 million guaranteed in the first year, the sources told Schefter.
The deal pairs the two-time NFL rushing champion with the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player in quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Ravens attempted to trade for Henry before last year’s trade deadline.
Henry, 30, remained available on the free agent market longer than expected. Before Henry joined Baltimore, 10 other free agent running backs had reached deals in the first two days of the NFL’s negotiating window.
The Ravens, who led the NFL with 2,661 yards rushing last season, needed a starting running back because J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards were both free agents. On Monday, Edwards agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Henry could lessen the load for Jackson, who has led the Ravens in rushing in each of the past five seasons. In Jackson’s six seasons, only one running back has gained over 1,000 yards rushing in Baltimore (Mark Ingram in 2019). Henry has rushed for over 1,000 yards in five of his past six seasons, including topping the NFL in 2019 and 2020.
Bringing in Henry is the Ravens’ first major addition in free agency. Before reaching a deal with Henry, the Ravens had six of their free agents sign elsewhere: Edwards (Chargers), safety Geno Stone (Bengals), wide receiver Devin Duvernay (Jaguars), guard John Simpson (Jets), cornerback Ronald Darby (Jaguars) and linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (Texans).
Henry solidified himself as one of the all-time great Titans players over his eight-year career in Tennessee. Only Eddie George (10,009) has more rushing yards than Henry’s 9,502 over his career. Henry’s 90 rushing touchdowns is tied with Hall of Fame running backs Curtis Martin and Eric Dickerson for the 13th most.
The Titans moved on from Henry on Monday when they agreed to a three-year contract with running back Tony Pollard.
Despite playing behind a poor offensive line, Henry finished second in the NFL last season with 1,167 rushing yards. He added 12 rushing touchdowns as well. Henry’s final game of the 2023 season, in which he rushed for 153 yards and hit 21.7 mph on the GPS, showed there is still stellar football left in his career.
In 2020, Henry was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, an Associated Press first-team All-Pro and, for the second consecutive season, FedEx Ground Player of the Year after leading the NFL with a franchise-record 2,027 rushing yards. He became the eighth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season. His 2,027 rushing yards gave him the fifth-highest total in NFL history behind Dickerson’s 2,105 (1984), Adrian Peterson‘s 2,097 (2012), Jamal Lewis’ 2,066 (2003) and Barry Sanders’ 2,053 (1997).
In 2021, Henry led the NFL with 937 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in the first eight weeks of the season before a foot injury derailed a potential second 2,000-yard rushing season. Henry still finished in the top 10 despite missing nine games.
Henry was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career last season. The Titans selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Alabama. Henry was the catalyst in Alabama winning the national championship in 2015 when he won the Heisman Trophy.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport contributed to this report.