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Derrick Henry addressed the Tennessee Titans fans after what may have been his final game with the team.
Following Sunday’s 28-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the star running back took a live microphone to express his appreciation for everyone at Nissan Stadium.
“Titans fans, I just want to say thank you for the greatest eight years of my life,” Henry said. “The ups and the downs, y’all have been there for everything. Through the adversity, watching me grow as a person and a player, always supporting me. I love y’all. I love seeing the 22s [jerseys] in the stadium. Hopefully I was an inspiration to all the young kids and everybody in the community. Just thank y’all so much.”
22 💙 pic.twitter.com/P07JkEHCBU
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 7, 2024
Henry is a free agent this season, and the 30-year-old seems prepared for his Titans tenure ending.
If so, Henry left on a high note, tallying a season-high 153 rushing yards with a touchdown on 19 carries. He finished the season with 1,167 rushing yards — his fifth 1,000-yard campaign of the last six years — and 12 scores while knocking an AFC South foe out of the playoffs.
Henry, who has spent his entire career in Tennessee, leads the NFL in rushing by a wide margin since the start of 2018. Yet a split could make sense for both sides.
After star running backs struggled to get paid last offseason, it’s easy to imagine the rebuilding Titans not wanting to invest in a long-term deal on a veteran running back after a 6-11 season. Meanwhile, Henry could try to find a contender that considers him the missing piece to a championship.
“Any player would love to play for an organization, finish out their career as long as they can,” Henry said earlier this week. “But there’s a business side and all those types of things that go on, and I understand that. We’ll just see how it shakes out during the offseason.”