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Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry usually spends the offseason away from the team and trains on his own. And while he still did that this year, Henry also showed up to the offseason program earlier than usual.
The King explains he did partly because he wanted to be with his teammates, but also because he wanted to work on learning the offense, which is now run by offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, who took over for Todd Downing.
“It’s a completely new offense, and I’m just coming in here trying to learn everything, and get used to the terminology,” he said, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “It has changed, and it’s getting in, working, and doing what I can.
“(I wanted) to try and get on it as early as I can and learn (the offense) and be around the guys. Just fly around with them, get some reps in so when I get back, I’ll be ready to go in camp.”
Henry also noted that while the terminology has changed, the emphasis on running the football has not.
“That part (an emphasis on running the ball) hasn’t even changed much, it’s the terminology part,” Henry said.
For the second straight year, Henry will be joined in the backfield by a rookie. After Tennessee drafted Hassan Haskins in 2022, the team took another back in Tyjae Spears in 2023.
Henry lauded Spears for his versatility and compared that aspect of the rookie’s game to Tennessee’s former back, Dontrell Hilliard.
“[Spears is] a versatile player, just like Dontrell [Hilliard] was,” he said. “He’s good at what he does in the pass game, so it’s going to be exciting for him to be out there and get some passes and make some big plays for us.”