Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Derrick Henry is HURT - What Happened, What Comes Next & Trade Deadline Targets

Episode Date: November 2, 2021

Derrick Henry is hurt and it isn't good, but it isn't all bad. Tyler tells you what the injury is and how long Henry will be out. Then, Tyler discusses what the Tennessee Titans should do next at the running back position. Finally, the NFL trade deadline is today and Tyler talks about what positions and players the Titans should be targeting!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a terrible Tuesday, if we are being honest. Got some awful news on Monday that Titans star running back Derek Henry would be out for the foreseeable future due to a foot injury. And on today's show, I'm going to start by just diving into all of the information that we have about the injury, when surgery is taking place, what kind of timeline we are looking at.

There is some optimism within the bad news that we got, so we are going to discuss some of that. After we talk about the injury and all the information you need to know, we're going to move into a conversation of what comes next for the Titans at the running back position. The Titans have brought in a player who should be able to help them at that spot already. I will tell you who that is, but I don't think that he alone, the addition alone, is going to fill the void that Derrick Henry leaves. I'm going to tell you how I think the Titans should try to make up for what they have lost with Derrick Henry. And then finally, it is trade deadline Tuesday.

And the Titans could stand to improve the roster with a trade or two. Some may be thinking about the running back spot. But I'm going to tell you why I would not focus on a trade at running back and tell you what positions and what players I would target on the trade market before the deadline hits on Tuesday afternoon. So an up and down Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Well, folks, the Titans were at one of the highest highs that they have had maybe in franchise history coming off an overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts. But that was immediately followed up by one of the lowest moments in Tennessee Titans history. The nightmare after Halloween. On Monday morning, it was announced that Derrick Henry suffered a potentially season-ending foot injury in the game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Very tough news for any Titans fan. Tough news for any NFL fan. Realistically, Derrick Henry is one of the most exciting, one of the most fun players to watch in the league. So obviously a tough blow to the Titans, but quite frankly, that was the worst news that was passed out throughout the day because as the day went on, you got more optimistic news on the Derrick Henry front. So first and foremost, what is the injury? It is a broken bone in Derrick Henry's foot. It is the fifth metatarsal, which is basically the bone that connects like your heel part of your foot to your pinky toe. It's the bone in between there.

Now, that's a load-bearing bone because it's in your foot, which makes it very difficult to play on. You can't. And it's also referred to as a Jones fracture. Now, as you guys know, I say all the time, I'm no doctor. So I'm just passing on the information that we've received online from trusted sources, from the Titans themselves.

So basically, this is a common injury in sports that you do see, and it does require surgery because what has to happen is basically the doctors have to take a pin and they have to put the pin through the bone into where your heel is at to hold it together in place. Surgery is going to take place for Derrick Henry today, this morning, Tuesday morning. So getting that taken care of right away. And then, of course, the conversation becomes, what's the timeline here? Can Derrick Henry come back this year? Is he lost for the rest of the season?

Well, the optimistic news is here. The timeline, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport is six to ten weeks. Six weeks is about as hopeful and as optimistic as you could get. Eight weeks is the most likely timeline based on what we've seen historically from other players who have suffered this injury. And then the worst possible scenario, well not the worst possible scenario, but within this timeline the furthest possible time would be 10 weeks. So if you think about 10 weeks, we're in week 8. There are 18 weeks in the season. Derrick Henry would be back even the furthest aspect of that timeline

for wildcard weekend, which based on what the Titans have done so far, based on what we can expect from them going forward throughout the season, the Titans most likely will be playing on wild card weekend. It seemed as bad as possible on Monday morning, hearing that he's out for the season, indefinite. But when you see what the injury is and what other players have done, it does make sense that Derrick Henry could come back in 8 to 10 weeks. That's probably the safest timeline to give Derrick Henry. And that certainly is better than him being out for the entire season

with no chance to return whatsoever. That would ultimately crush the Titans' Super Bowl hopes, in my opinion. But the fact that Derrick Henry could come back by wildcard weekend, be ready to go for a playoff run for the Titans, and certainly coming off a fracture in his foot and surgery, he's probably not going to be 100%. But just having Derrick Henry out there, even if it's a limited Derrick Henry,

is still going to give the Titans the chance that they need to win the Super Bowl, which is what this season has completely been about. So although it's very bad news on the Derrick Henry front, it's not the worst possible news that could have come out of Monday. So we have to take that small amount of optimism, that small amount of hope, and push that forward. And the way that we push that forward is by taking a look at what the Titans can do going forward at the running back position. Some people want a trade. I'll talk about some

trade targets at the end of today's show, but that is not the route that I would go. The route that I would go is the route that the Tennessee Titans have placed themselves on, bringing in a free agent who you can count on, who has a great history, and then supplementing him with the pieces that you already have, like a Jeremy McNichols, like a Makai Sargent, who is on the practice squad, or by bringing back a familiar face, like a Deontay Foreman. I'm going to talk about the Titans plan at running back going forward in our next segment. Before we get into that though. Titans fans.

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we already got our first answer. And speaking of first, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. And if this is your first listen ever to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Check out the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe over there. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live. Gotta check me out on social media as well

at TicTacTitans on Twitter at LockedOnTitansPod on Facebook. So we got obviously the great win against the Colts but then the terrible news on Monday about Derrick Henry's foot. We just talked about that at length so what

happens next? Well the Titans signed Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson to come in and assist the Tennessee Titans with dealing with Henry's absence. And I gotta say, I really love the move. So, we know that Adrian Peterson

is an older cat. No way around it. He's 36 going on 37. We also know that he's been in the NFL for a long time, but based on that experience in the NFL, what we do know is Adrian Peterson can carry Derrick Henry's workload. He has the ability to do it. He's done it throughout his career. He's a guy who's had great longevity.

He's a guy who's had great durability as well, and I find it interesting that we all consider Derrick Henry an MVP candidate, one of the only running backs that have gotten that distinction in many years. Well, the last running back to actually win MVP was Adrian Peterson. So I find that a little bit hilarious. We are passing off an MVP running back spot to an MVP running back. I know that it was in his prime and he is not there anymore, but nonetheless, definitely an interesting wrinkle to this story.

But what I want to point out here, obviously we know Adrian Peterson's been one of the best running backs of all time, but even in the last few years that he has played in the NFL, he's been a very solid contributor. So take a look, 2018, he rushed for 1,000 yards. He had 4.2 yards per carry, and he was playing for Washington, and they only had the 17th best running game in the NFL that year. 2009, still playing with Washington, 898 yards, so close to 1,000 again.

More efficiency, 4.3 yards per carry, and Washington was the 22nd best rushing offense in the league that year. In 2020, Adrian Peterson was playing with the Lions. He still had 604 yards, 3.9 yards per carry. And the Lions were the 26th best rushing offense in the NFL last year. So what I'm saying to you is, Adrian Peterson has still been efficient, nearly four yards per carry while playing on some of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL.

You put Adrian Peterson on one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL. And I know the conversation goes to, well, how much credit does the Titans offensive system and the offensive line get compared to having Derrick Henry be the guy running the ball? Well, of course, Derrick Henry is one of the main reasons the Titans have been one of the best running teams in the NFL for three years in a row now. But some of that credit has to go to the offensive line and the system in which Derrick Henry is working within. I mean, that's only fair and logical, correct?

And that system has clearly been one of the better systems in the NFL, not just in Tennessee, but in all the parts around the NFL in LA, in Green Bay, in San Francisco, Minnesota. I mean, this system is friendly to the run game. That's why so many teams

employ it. So, to me, adding the late recent efficiency of Adrian Peterson, the fact that he hasn't been with the team so far this year, so his legs are going to be fresh. And I don't know about you guys, but if you know anything about Adrian Peterson, he's going to be in shape. I saw a video of him yesterday and he's just in street clothes, but the guy is still in football shape. That's something that we can count on with Adrian Peterson. So Adrian Peterson signed with the Titans.

Now, how much of Derrick Henry's role does he take? Well, that's the next conversation really. And for me, well, before we get into that, let me just give you some quotes from Adrian Peterson who is excited to sign with the Titans. He told this to Josina Anderson earlier on Monday. He said, quote, the workout was good.

It feels good to get back into football movement and to sign with a contender, which he hasn't been on in quite some time. We have big shoes to fill for Derrick Henry, who I feel was the front runner for MVP, but I look forward to contributing to the running back room and helping the Titans win the division

and to chase the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. And I want to hit on what he said there. I'm looking forward to contributing to the running back room. So Adrian Peters isn't just going to be Derrick Henry. That's not going to happen. But if he can take 15 to 20 of Derrick Henry's 30 carries a game, well, now you're in business. And then you supplement some of the other carries with Jeremy McNichols.

You throw the ball a little bit more. McNichols is going to have a huge impact on this team now. There's no way around that. Jeremy McNichols is now in a place where he's going to have to be more important and more reliable than ever. And quite frankly, although I was kind of down on McNichols at the beginning of the year, because I was excited about Darrington Evans, fool's gold for me, I'll admit it.

I admit when I'm wrong. I really do. If you guys listen to the show all the time, you know that. So for me, you got Adrian Peterson taking 15 to 20 carries a game. You got some increased time for Jeremy McNichols along with the 10 to 15 snaps that he would get regularly. Now he's going to get 20, 22 snaps. So that's about five carries

that you can give to McNichols in shotgun situations. And then I would still like the Titans to bring in Deontay Foreman who is currently a free agent. Had somebody hop in my Twitter comments today and tell me I don't even know my team because Deontay Foreman plays for the Falcons.

Deontay Foreman was cut by the Falcons at the beginning of September and he's been a free agent for quite some time. The Titans worked him out last week. You guys, it takes everything in me to not just clown some of these bozos on Twitter. Not only are they wrong, but they come at you with a confidence

and a boldness. It just blows my mind. Like, you really don't even know what you're talking about. And you're going to accuse me of not knowing? Oh, man. It's crazy to me. Anyways, I've been using that block button a lot more than I ever thought I would need to do when I started doing this. But anyways, moving forward, I still want to see Deontay Foreman brought back to this team.

Big-bodied guy. Has some good speed, too. I know he doesn't know the offense as well. I know that he's not really going to give you much in pass blocking. He's not really a guy who's going to catch the ball out of the backfield despite scoring a touchdown on a pass on a running back flat route last year. Either way, I think he's a big-bodied guy who can take some carries from Adrian Peterson as well.

You give about five carries to Foreman. You give about 15 carries to Peterson. You give about five carries to Jeremy McNichols. Now you're right at the 15 carry mark, the 25 carry mark that the Titans want to be at anyways. So while they're not Derrick Henry, I still think that the Titans offense has enough to win games with that group of guys.

Because where the Titans are at right now, we'll quickly go through this schedule. So obviously, the Titans will play the Rams on Sunday night football this week. That's something that we know. But after that, they're going to get to play the New Orleans Saints with Trevor Simeon at quarterback because unfortunately, Jameis Winston

tore his ACL. So, you have that. After that, a game against the Texans. A game against the Patriots. A bye week. You got a game against the Jags. another game against the Texans in there.

You got to think about the game against San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Miami. I mean, all the Titans really have to do at this point is win three of those games. And the Colts would have to go 8-1 for them to be able to overtake the Titans in the division. Now, I know a lot of you guys want to win the number one seed. And I get that. But the injury to Derrick Henry pretty much kind of takes me out of that thought process. I'm only worried about getting to the tournament healthy. You get into the tournament healthy.

You get Derrick Henry back. And now you have a chance. Now you have a chance to win the Super Bowl still. So you're running back by committee. You don't spend draft capital trade for a running back. That's not what the Titans are going to do. There are other places they could use that capital if they really wanted to make trades.

You let McNichols. You let Peterson. And then a third running back who also can give some carries as well. You let those guys handle the duty. Listen, the Titans offense is still explosive. The Titans offense still has Ryan Tannehill, still has A.J. Brown, could get a healthy Julio Jones at some point, hopefully. This Titans offense can still score and be explosive.

Without Derrick Henry, it just lowers the ceiling of what the Titans are able to do. The last two weeks, Derrick Henry really didn't run the ball very well. Not because he was terrible, obviously, banged up, and the plan for the other team was just to slow him down, but the Titans proved that they can win when Derrick Henry doesn't have a great day. And they can continue to do that with the supplemental help

from the other guys that I mentioned. So who will be that third running back? Could be Sargent, could be Foreman, could be a mystery candidate. But we do know that Adrian Peterson and Jeremy McNichols for right now will get the majority of the role that needs to be filled for

Derrick Henry. And honestly, with the schedule, with the timeline for Henry, with the lead that the Titans have in the AFC South, I feel very comfortable and optimistic about Adrian Peterson with the timeline for Henry, with the lead that the Titans have in the AFC South, I feel very comfortable and optimistic about Adrian Peterson and Jeremy McNichols. And let's just stop for a second. How cool is it to have Adrian Peterson on the Titans?

I know he's older. It's not his prime, but it's still pretty cool. You got to admit it. So anyway, that's what I would do next with the Titans running back position. I agree with the path that they're on. Now, people have been looking at trade options, and we are going to talk those trade options next.

It is a trade deadline Tuesday. The trade deadline is later on this afternoon. I'm going to talk about some options the Titans would have at running back, but we're mostly going to focus on some other positions, I think, that they could stand to upgrade. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about our friends over

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Titans fans, we are going to cap off this Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast by discussing some trade options that the Tennessee Titans will have before the trade deadline today. I've been waiting to kind of have this discussion with you guys. And the Derrick Henry news obviously changes the calculus a little bit here as to what the Titans should consider. But in my mind, it shouldn't. I like the signing of Adrian Peterson. I feel comfortable with Jeremy McNichols staying in his role

and having a little bit of an increase. I'd rather sign a third free agent. Guys, outside of the studs, running backs are a dime a dozen. And if you block well and you have them in a good system, they're going to produce. I do not want to waste draft capital on a running back. Especially with the news that Derrick Henry could come back later in the season. Just no reason to do that at all.

But where I am willing to spend some draft capital is at wide receiver, Is that defensive line? Is that cornerback? Those are places that I would consider. I'm not going to go spend draft capital on Marlon Mack, Phillip Lindsey, Melvin Gordon,

who probably wouldn't be available from the Broncos anyway. Tevin Coleman? No. Tyson Williams? No. Ronald Jones? Absolutely not.

Mike Davis? Rashad Penny? Darius Geis is a free agent? I don't want any of those guys. None of those guys, other than Melvin Gordon, are significantly better than Adrian Peterson. So why would you give up a draft pick to go get the easiest position in the NFL

to find quality production? Doesn't make any sense. What I think is, the Titans are going to have to throw the ball a little bit more. They're going to have to lean on their passing game a little bit more. So why not go out and get another wide receiver? You can't count on Julio Jones' health at this moment in time. And if you do get Julio Jones healthy, and then Derrick Henry comes back at the end of the year,

now you have A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and a third wide receiver who's better than what they have on the roster, ready to rock, and the team's even better than they were before. So who are some options? For me, Brandon Cooks from the Texans. Odell Beckham Jr., but I'm out on that. He is on the trade market, but I'm out on that. Deshaun Jackson could make a lot of sense. I'm out on that. Deshaun Jackson could make a lot

of sense. I'm not sure I like Deshaun Jackson's attitude, quite frankly, and he's already phased out and worn out his welcome with the Rams, so I don't really like that, but he is a guy who can stretch the field vertically. It's not really something that the Titans have right now. Devontae

Parker, another big-bodied physical receiver who fits the mold for the Titans. Jamison Crowder, a slot guy that the Titans think they need that. I don't think that's really what they need right now, but it could make some sense. Allen Robinson. Now, you'd have to pay a premium for somebody like Allen Robinson. I wouldn't go that route. He makes too much money, but he is on the block, so I have to throw him in here. Darius Slayton. Now, that's a very, but he is on the block. So, have to throw him in here. Darius Slayton. Now, that's a very, you know, on the periphery name that could make an impact.

But for me, is Darius Slayton that much better than Marcus Johnson? No, that doesn't really move the needle. Brandon Ayuk. A former first round pick. Incredible speed. Can be used as a gadget guy. He's kind of worn out his welcome as well in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan. Now, he's having trouble getting the playbook. He doesn't

really know what to do, so maybe that kind of guy doesn't really fit with what the Titans want to do, and I understand that as well, but the talent is there, and that would be a nice play for the Titans. Michael Gallup from the Cowboys has been injured, but when he comes back, Cedric

Wilson has been good in the slot for the Cowboys, so they may be willing to part with Michael Gallup. He's another big-bodied guy who can play on the outside and stretch vertically. So the Titans would have some options. Now, you're asking yourself, what could they give up? Well, you look at a guy like Brandon Cooks, who I would be very interested in. You'd probably have to give up a third-round pick for something like that, which the Titans are going to get probably a fourth round compensatory draft pick because of Daquan Jones last year, some playing time incentives. They could get an additional compensatory pick.

And plus, the Titans are all in for this year, right? They went out and got Julio Jones. This is the Super Bowl time. Derrick Henry is wearing down, obviously. We see now Tannehill's contract, the guaranteed money, is going to be up after next year. The window is now, okay? This team is not going to be together

for seven, eight years to try to make a run. You get about four, five years max. Max. So go get it, J-Rob. Go get Brandon Cooks. That would be my number one option. But if they want to do a little bit lower, they want to do something else with one of the guys

that costs a little bit less, I would be okay with that as well. Perfectly fine. Now, outside of wide receiver, look at Kyle Fuller from the Broncos, Kendall Fuller from the Washington football team, cornerback. I would love to see them get a cornerback.

A lot of people are looking for Xavier Howard. Maybe a little too expensive. He wanted a big money contract from the Dolphins. Didn't get it. So how is he going to react? There is a relationship between the Dolphins and the Titans who have made trades before though. So that could work out.

Cam Dantzler from Minnesota. Now Minnesota's had some injuries in their secondary that have caused them to rely on Dantzler a little bit more. But he's a big bodied, long long-armed, first-round talent. Could make some sense for the Titans. Outside of corner, Evan Ingram at tight end. I'm out on that, though. Not really interested in adding tight end, especially a guy like Ingram,

who isn't very physical and is more of a glorified wide receiver, or rather just roll with Ferkser. I know that Ingram is a better player than Ferkser, but it's all about giving up the draft capital, and I'm not willing to do that for the slight upgrade that the Titans are getting. You look on the defensive line, maybe a guy like Melvin Ingram, who's out of favor in Pittsburgh.

I think that could make a lot of sense for the Titans, a guy I wanted them to sign early on. If the Titans are maybe going to take a step back on offense, ratchet up the defense, and hope that that can carry the day until Henry gets back and then you have a better defense than you had when you started when he does come back. Fletcher Cox, we heard that rumor late in the week last week that Fletcher Cox from the Eagles could be available with their new scheme. He doesn't really fit it.

He doesn't really like it. A lot of people are saying that that's just, you know, scuttlebutt nonsense. Okay, that's fine. But hey, just willing to bring up the options here. Talk about the options. So for me, I'm willing to give up a third round pick if you're going to get a guy like Xavier Howard or Brandon Cooks. Any of the other names that I mentioned,

I don't really want to give up more than a fifth round pick. But either way, I could see John Robinson going out and making a splash and trying to improve this roster, not only to help with the loss of Derrick Henry, but also to just improve this team that I think, with a healthy Derrick Henry, could very well win the Super Bowl.