For Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry to remain as productive as he has been in the past, he will have to defy the running back aging curve.
Henry was dismissive of concerns about his age when speaking to the media on Monday. The veteran has handled a historically large workload for the last five years with the Tennessee Titans, and said continuing to do so is simply a matter of having the mindset.
“It’s kind of funny. Ever since high school sometimes I got 56 [carries] in the game, 57 the next week,” Henry told reporters, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “In college, it was 44, 46. In the NFL, it was 30, 35. I really think it’s just your mindset, how you take care of your body and not get too caught on ‘he say, she say.’ If it works and you feel good, just keep working and keep doing what you do.”
Henry added that he is eager to “let my play speak for my age” instead of answering questions about it. Those questions are perhaps inevitable after a fairly underwhelming 2023, however. While Henry still received a large workload to the tune of a league-leading 280 carries, his numbers were down across the board, and his 4.2 yards per carry were his worst since his second NFL season.
Henry turned 30 in January, which is often an inflection point for NFL running backs. He believes he is built differently, and also seems to believe his new situation in Baltimore will prove beneficial to him.
