Ahead of the 2020 offseason, the Miami Dolphins were a popular destination to speculate on for the NFL’s 2019 rushing champion. The Tennessee Titans rode RB Derrick Henry to the AFC Championship Game and his bruising running style seemed to be an apparent fit with Miami’s overhauled philosophy on offense. But Henry never got a chance to dip his toe into the free agent waters — he was franchise tagged by the Titans ahead of free agency.
And now we know that Henry won’t be an option for the Dolphins at all, as Henry has inked a 4-year, $50M contract extension with the Titans that will keep him in Nashville for the prime of his career.
The news came through yesterday just as the deadline for franchised players to sign extensions passed, a buzzer beating deal that will ensure that if Miami is intent on upgrading the position again next offseason, they’ll have to find another avenue to do so.
For all we know, the Dolphins may not have actually been too keen on dropping the money necessary to land Henry — Miami was actually quite thrifty with their running back personnel decisions this offseason. Signing Jordan Howard and trading for Matt Breida will cost the Dolphins approximately $8 million in 2020, just two-thirds of what Henry’s new annual average salary is with the Titans.
So while it would have been fun to speculate about and even more fun to watch Henry pound opposing defenders while wearing a Dolphins uniform in 2021, it’s likely a better outcome for all involved to see the Dolphins avoid the temptation of going all-in on a veteran running back that has quite a few miles on his tread already. Instead, the Dolphins will have the chance to find their own version of the bruising back — and they’ll likely try to do so while avoiding the major financial commitments that would have come with acquiring Henry.