Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson will now be in the same backfield, an idea that made many Ravens fans giddy with excitement on Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After reportedly eyeing the four-time Pro Bowl running back before last year’s trade deadline, Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta has landed Henry with a two-year, $16 million contract, according to ESPN and NFL Network. The deal includes $9 million fully guaranteed as well as incentives that could push the contract total to $20 million, easily making it the biggest financial commitment the Ravens have made at the running back position since signing three-time Pro Bowl selection Mark Ingram to a three-year, $15 million contract in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deals for unrestricted free agents cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an era in which the running back position has been devalued, the massive 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry has remained a historic outlier as he just completed his fifth 1,000-yard rushing season of the last six years and is on track in 2024 to become the 32nd player in league history to eclipse 10,000 career rushing yards. The former Tennessee Titan has carried the ball more than 2,000 times in his career, leaving some skeptics to brace for the decline he’s managed to fight off despite logging 280 or more rushing attempts in four of the last five seasons. Henry did average a career-low 4.16 yards per carry while again leading the NFL in rushing attempts last season, but he also finished second in the league in yards after contact, eighth in yards after contact per attempt<\/a>, and 17th in rushing yards over expected per attempt, numbers reflecting just how little help he received from a lousy Tennessee offensive line<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n