It looks as though Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry will indeed play out the 2020 season on the franchise tag.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Henry and the Titans “are not expected to reach a long-term deal” by the July 15 deadline.
Titans and Derrick Henry are not expected to reach a long-term deal by Wednesday deadline for franchise players, per source. Henry is scheduled to make $10.27M this season and become a free agent in off-season.
Any franchise deals by Wednesday will be an exception, not the rule.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 14, 2020
On the franchise tag, Henry will make $10.278 million this coming season, but it also means that he’ll be a free agent once again in 2021; although the Titans will have the option of placing the tag on him once again to avoid that.
General manager Jon Robinson has made it clear on multiple occasions this offseason that the team wants to get something done with Henry, however he also stressed the importance of the two sides finding middle ground.
What exactly that middle ground is remains to be seen, as details of what Henry wants or what the Titans are willing to offer haven’t emerged.
Henry led the NFL in rushing last season with a career-high 1,540 yards. He then went on to carry the Titans on his back through the first two rounds of the playoffs en route to the AFC Championship Game, where the Titans eventually fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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