The Tennessee Titans have more or less come out of the toughest part of their schedule with three straight wins over formidable opponents, but the victories came with a heavy price in losing running back Derrick Henry.
The NFL’s reigning rushing leader in back-to-back seasons broke a bone in his foot during Sunday’s 34-31 overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts, and he will reportedly miss anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Titans (6-2) signed Adrian Peterson to the practice squad on Monday, and he is expected to be elevated to the active roster. Peterson, 36, played in all 16 games for the Detroit Lions last year, rushing for 604 yards on 156 carries.
Nobody will be able to replace Henry on the field or in the locker room. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel knows the team has to find a way to keep on chugging along without its star back, though.
“We’re going to have to be creative and we’re going to have to figure out answers and a way to move the football, and continue to run our offense,” coach Mike Vrabel said.
For now, Peterson is expected to be the feature back. Behind him lies Jeremy McNichols, and Dontrell Hilliard and Mekhi Sargent are both on the practice squad.
McNichols has just seven carries for 38 yards on the season, but he has been a valuable asset in the passing game, hauling in 21 receptions for 203 yards and a score. His receiving yards are third-most on the team.
Last season, the Boise State standout had 47 carries for 204 yards (4.3 yards per attempt). He’ll likely see an uptick in his workload on the ground.
“Jeremy, since he’s been here, has always done whatever the team needed him to do – special teams, running the football, [and] protect,” Vrabel said on Monday. “He’s got a certain level of toughness that we respect. He’s done a nice job in protection, he’s done a nice job in the screen game.”
Hilliard was added to the Titans’ practice squad last week after spending time with the Browns and Texans in seven games last year. With the Browns in 2019, the Tulane product rushed for 49 yards on 13 attempts and crossed the goal line twice.
Sargent was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Iowa after the 2021 NFL Draft and was a standout during the preseason. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry in college, but he lacks experience in the NFL, with only two carries for four yards this year.
“Dontrell [Hilliard] probably spent more time in our building for a new player last week as much as anyone that I can remember,” Vrabel added. “I would see him late in the special teams’ office with Auk [Chris Aukerman]. He came in ready to go, you could see that he clearly wanted to come in a try to play. Sarg [Mekhi Sargent] has shown a toughness and willingness to be available and be with us through training camp.”
The Titans may not be done adding to their backfield before Sunday. The team worked out Dont’a Foreman last week. He spent the 2020 season with Tennessee, so there is some familiarity with the player and the system.
Regardless, it’s likely to be a running back by committee until Henry returns. No one should expect his yardage to be replaced, but the Titans have enough weapons and a comfortable division lead that they can survive without him until he makes a potential late-season return.
In the passing game, getting a healthy Julio Jones to complement a red-hot A.J. Brown would go a long way toward a balanced offense that will try to keep pace with the NFL’s second-best passing attack in the Rams’.
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