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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff WriterSep 9, 2024, 06:39 PM ET
- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Derrick Henry‘s days of leading the NFL in carries appear to be over this season.
After Henry was limited to 46 yards rushing on 13 attempts in the Baltimore Ravens‘ opener, coach John Harbaugh indicated that Henry won’t be given the heavy workload that he has received in the past.
“We didn’t bring Derrick [Henry] in here to be the guy that gets the ball 30 times a game,” Harbaugh said after Monday’s practice. “He’s done that before. That’s really not the plan.”
Henry, 30, was Baltimore’s biggest free agent addition this offseason, signing a two-year, $16 million deal. He came from the Tennessee Titans where he was their offensive centerpiece and topped the league in carries in four of the past five seasons.
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But Harbaugh wants unpredictability with the Baltimore offense. He envisions the Ravens relying on quarterback Lamar Jackson and the passing attack one week and then Henry and the running game the next time.
“I think that evaluation will be best made over the course of the season,” Harbaugh said. “And I’m very confident, there are going to be games where Derrick is going to go for 100-plus [yards] or more, and you’re going to be asking me, ‘Why does Zay [Flowers, wide receiver] only have two catches?'”
In Thursday’s 27-20 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs, Henry ran five times for 17 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. He then had eight carries for 29 yards for the rest of the game.
His13 total carries were his fewest in a season opener since 2018.
One of the bigger surprises was Henry playing only 46% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps. He finished with 37 snaps, which were six fewer than backup running back Justice Hill.
“[There are a] couple runs I’d probably want back and do different,” Henry said after Thursday’s loss. “But [I] try to do the best I can to help this team win, and we came up short. One game doesn’t define the whole season; we’ve got plenty more to go play. [We’ll] watch some film, learn from it and get better. [I’ll] be self-critical of myself and continue to improve.”
