Best Derrick Henry trade destinations as Titans enter sell mode

Last in the AFC South and with starting QB Ryan Tannehill hobbled by injury, the Tennessee Titans look the part of sellers at the trade deadline. Tennessee’s decision on Monday to send two-time first-team All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles helped solidify that thinking. 

With trade speculation ramping up in the Music City, running Derrick Henry could be the next prominent Titans player on the move. Here are three logical landing spots for the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year: 

Baltimore Ravens

After humbling the Detroit Lions in Week 7, 38-6, the Ravens have firmly entrenched themselves as AFC contenders. There’s no better way to build off that momentum than solidifying their lackluster backfield. 

The Ravens rank No. 2 in the NFL with 1,015 rushing yards, but they’d plummet to No. 21 by eliminating QB Lamar Jackson’s team-high 363 rushing yards. 

With starter J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve with a torn Achilles, no Ravens running back averages more than 49.4 yards per game this season. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2018, Henry has averaged 97.7 YPG across 77 games. 

Buffalo Bills 

Buffalo’s tandem of James Cook and Latavius Murray is serviceable. Yet, replacing the latter with Henry would immediately create one of the NFL’s most vaunted backfield duos. 

In his first season as a starter, Cook is tied with Christian McCaffrey for the 10th-most yards per carry  (4.8). However, Buffalo seems reluctant to give Cook a substantial workload, as the second-year pro has averaged just 11 carries over his past four games. 

Henry’s presence would allow the Bills to be more creative with Cook, namely in the passing game, where he had 46 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. 

While Henry would be a focal point of the offense, the 29-year-old likely wouldn’t operate as a bell cow. Although it may not be what fantasy football owners want to hear, it would help prolong the career of a running back who has carried the ball more than any other player in the NFL since 2017 (1,738). 

Dallas Cowboys 

Tony Pollard has taken a substantial step back in his first season as a featured back in Dallas. Through six games, he has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry — 1.5 YPC fewer than he averaged over the two seasons prior. 

Ezekiel Elliott is missed dearly in Dallas’ short-yardage and red-zone packages. Last season, the Cowboys ranked No. 1 in the NFL in red-zone touchdown percentage (71.43%) and Elliott’s 12 rushing TDs from within the 20-yard line ranked second in the NFL. Dallas has scored a touchdown this season on just 39.13% of their red-zone visits (seventh worst in the NFL). 

Since entering the league in 2016, Henry leads has amassed an NFL-high 81 rushing touchdowns.