Henry ponders Titans future on career-worst day

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee running back Derrick Henry said he is pondering his future after a frustrating 19-16 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday that officially eliminated the Titans from playoff contention.

“Yeah, definitely today you had that feeling [that it could be the end of my career with the Titans],” said Henry, who is normally one to stay in the moment. “I had hope of kind of slipping in there [the playoffs], and then being eliminated with three games left. I’ve been here my whole career. Definitely wanted to go out strong, which that isn’t the case.”

The Titans will make a decision regarding the 29-year-old Henry, who is set to become a free agent after the four-year, $50 million contract he signed in 2020 runs out after this season.

Tennessee is projected to have $91.8 million in cap space this offseason, so signing Henry is a possibility. However, rookie Tyjae Spears‘ 410 snaps are just one fewer than Henry this season.

Henry’s performance Sunday was his worst as a starter — just 9 yards on 16 carries. He entered the game averaging 203.6 rushing yards in his past five games against Houston.

“We weren’t great today as a whole,” Henry said. “They were the better team today. The credit goes to them. It seemed like they had an answer for everything.”

In 14 games this season, Henry has 214 carries for 875 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 9,210 career rushing yards are the second most in Oilers/Titans history behind Eddie George, and his 88 career rushing touchdowns are No. 1 in franchise history.

The Titans have a home game against the Seattle Seahawks next week followed by a trip to Houston before wrapping up the season at home vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I’ll try to give it my all in these last three games and leave it all on the field,” Henry said.