Derrick Henry
Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Baltimore Ravens have had a nightmare season, losing both of their top quarterbacks to injuries and falling to 4-5 after another lopsided loss on Thursday night. The struggles have led to plenty of speculation that the team could look to part ways with some of its stars before next week’s trade deadline. But it sounds like one of those stars is staying put.
According to a new report, the Ravens are not expected to trade running back Derrick Henry, and the team has already told the future Hall of Famer that he isn’t going anywhere.
Ravens’ Collapse
Baltimore’s season took a major turn when Lamar Jackson went down with an injury, and backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley was later ruled out for the season. The Ravens are hoping Jackson can return later this year, and they traded for Jacoby Brissett to hold down the fort in the meantime.
The results haven’t been pretty. On Thursday night, the Ravens fell 33-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, marking their third straight loss by at least 20 points, which is a first in franchise history.
With the season slipping away, Henry quickly became the subject of trade speculation. There were even suggestions that his former head coaches, John Harbaugh with the New York Giants and Mike Vrabel with the New England Patriots, could be interested in bringing him in.
Henry addressed the trade talk after Thursday’s loss as he made it clear that he hasn’t discussed a trade with the team.
“I have not mentioned me going anywhere else,” Henry said, via ESPN. “I’m saying, ‘Let’s go back to work. Let’s try to get better and turn this thing around.'”
Henry Staying Put
On Saturday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Henry is not expected to be traded before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, putting an end to the speculation.
According to Schefter, the Ravens recently told Henry that they have no intention of trading him, and the team never considered dealing him. A league source also told ESPN that the only Ravens running back the Giants asked about was Justice Hill, not Henry.
The report also notes that there’s “no direct evidence” that Harbaugh or Vrabel ever inquired about Henry.
According to the report, the Ravens believe that Brissett can keep them in the playoff race until Jackson is ready to return, and they’re not ready to give up on the season. Baltimore also has a more favorable stretch of the schedule coming up, starting with the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Henry has continued to produce and climb the record books despite the team’s struggles. On Thursday, he passed Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson to move into seventh place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, and he now has 13,707 career rushing yards.
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