Why The Philadelphia Eagles Aren’t Trading For Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry

As juicy as it sounds, the Philadelphia Eagles are not trading for Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.

Just days prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, a report from former player and current ‘The Talk” host Akbar Gbaja-Biamila indicates that the Titans running back is heading to the Eagles.

The former NFL Offensive Player of the Year is owed a $10.5 million salary for the 2023 season, the final year of his deal. While there had been rumblings earlier in the offseason that Henry could be on the move, that chatter has since been shut down.

In fact, shortly after Gbaja-Biamila’s tweet, Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer shut down the idea that the Eagles are making a move for the star running back.

The fact that Henry is entering the last year of his deal on a Titans team that appears to be in rebuild mode has led to speculation that he’s played his last game with Tennessee.

The idea of Henry — arguably the NFL’s best pure running back — joining a run-heavy Eagles offense led by Jalen Hurts is a match made in heaven. If Philadelphia were to pull off such a move, they’d easily be the Super Bowl favorites and would have an unstoppable offensive unit also flanked by playmakers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

It’s just not likely to happen.

For one, the Eagles already have a running back room not lacking in depth in Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. Penny is the projected starter, having been a bright spot on the Seattle Seahawks while healthy. The former first-round draft pick has averaged 5.7 yards per over the course of his career, which would actually lead all active runners if he qualified for the minimum requirement (750 rush attempts).

However, that’s the problem — he’s been largely unhealthy over the course of his career. Penny is coming off of a broken fibula injury that limited him to just five games last season. Not only has Penny never played a full season, he hasn’t appeared in more than 10 games in a single season since 2018.

The Eagles hope to keep Penny healthy by likely having him split carries with Gainwell. Gainwell was a major reason why Philadelphia felt comfortable allowing former starting back Miles Sanders to walk in free agency. In fact, Gainwell ran for 112 yards in the Eagles’ divisional round playoff win over the New York Giants and he actually out-rushed Sanders during the postseason, rushing for 181 yards in comparison to the latter’s 148 rushing yards.

If there any’s doubt in relying upon a Penny-Gainwell duo to lead Philadelphia’s high-powered offensive attack, there’s a simple and cost-effective solution — draft a running back, such as the University of Texas’ Bijan Robinson in the first round. In fact, Robinson recently revealed that the Eagles are one of just two teams that he’s had an in-person visit with.

The Eagles hold two first-round picks — one at No. 10 and the other at No. 30 — and they should be able to land Robinson with one of those picks.

In other words, it makes little sense to sacrifice draft capital and salary cap space to acquire a one-year rental in Henry.

Henry is due to be the NFL’s second-highest paid running back this season. The contract is certainly justified, considering Henry has led the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns twice each. However, the fact that he’s nearing age 30 and that he’s in a decline should make Philadelphia think twice about trading for him.

During the 2019-2020 seasons, Henry averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Over the past two seasons, he’s averaged just 4.4 yards per carry. Over the last four seasons, Henry has totaled 1,337 touches — 334 per season — despite missing nine games during the 2021 season. That’s a huge number of 24.3 touches per game during that span.

When one factors in that the Eagles could draft Robinson at No. 10 and pay him $4 million for this season or select him at No. 30 and pay him a shade under $2.3 million for this year, it makes little sense to acquire Henry at nearly $11 million for this year.

The storyline of Henry joining the Eagles would undoubtedly be one of the biggest topics heading into the 2023 season. However, it just isn’t a very likely one considering Philadelphia’s options.