Tennessee Titans: Why Jon Robinson was so definitive about Derrick Henry
INDIANAPOLIS — The crafting of lies, a phrase coined by my dear friend John Glennon of The Athletic, permeates the NFL Combine. This we know to be so. When Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson took to the podium on Tuesday, however, there was a rare moment of definition. The team wants it known publicly that they […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The crafting of lies, a phrase coined by my dear friend John Glennon of The Athletic, permeates the NFL Combine. This we know to be so. When Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson took to the podium on Tuesday, however, there was a rare moment of definition.
The team wants it known publicly that they would like to keep running back Derrick Henry in Nashville.
"Derrick had a great year for us," Robinson said. "I mean, he led the league in rushing, he built off the second half of the 2018 season that he had, he cares about his teammates, he works hard, he's great in the community and we're going to work through that one and do everything we can to keep him around."
That is about as much clarity as one could expect from an NFL executive on a player who they're negotiating with. But, why?
There's Truth To It
Robinson's concession to "do everything" they can to retain the 2019 NFL Rushing Champion comes as no surprise.
Henry finished the regular season with a 1,540 yards on 303 rushing attempts (4.8 avg.) and 16 rushing touchdowns. Over the final six weeks of the regular season plus three playoff appearances, the first-time Pro Bowl selection totaled seven 100-yard games. From the regular season final through the divisional round, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 180 yards in three consecutive regular season and/or postseason games, per the team's PR staff.
Plus, Robinson is keenly aware of what not bringing Henry back would do to the budding fan base that adores their Heisman Trophy winner. No need to start (more) fires where they do not already exist.
Don't Overlook Strategy
Anytime words are uttered in this Wonderful World of Sports and headlines result, one must consider which party stands to benefit most from the news.
In the case of Robinson and Henry, having expressed a desire to retain Tennessee's most irreplaceable player can certainly be genuine. What it can also be is a way of positioning the Titans as the sympathetic party if terms are not agreed upon and Henry walks. By stating publicly that they'd like to have No. 22 in their backfield for all the media to hear, Robinson allows for another narrative to be created if a deal does not get done. It is the same narrative seen at least once every offseason.
"Well, we tried to bring him back but his demands were just to high! What a selfish player Derrick Henry must be!"
Believing GMs at this time of year can be a difficult proposition. What we know, at least for now, is that the Titans publicly want to to retain Derrick Henry.
