The Tennessee Titans may not have star running back Derrick Henry for the rest of the 2021 season. They might replace him with a former superstar, too.
The Tennessee Titans could never really “replace” what Derrick Henry brings to the table, but they are certainly going to have to try. It’s possible that Henry could miss the rest of the 2021 regular season after a foot injury suffered on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
There’s no question about it — losing Derrick Henry is a crucial blow for the Tennessee Titans. If you were to look at the entire league of 32 teams and 53-man rosters, the Titans losing Derrick Henry is one of probably the top three-to-five most catastrophic injuries any team could suffer.
The Titans won on Sunday, and they remained one of the hottest teams in the NFL. With King Derrick Henry possibly on the shelf for the rest of the regular season, who are you going to call?
Titans could replace Derrick Henry with former superstar Adrian Peterson
The #Titans are expected to work out veteran RB Adrian Peterson this week, sources say, in the wake of the Derrick Henry foot injury. Tennessee could replace the MVP candidate with one of the greatest running backs of all time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 1, 2021
If you can’t have your own 2,000-yard back, you might as well go and grab another one if you can.
Adrian Peterson is 36 years old and frankly based on the way he was running last year for the Detroit Lions, it’s a bit surprising he’s not currently on an NFL roster.
Peterson was obviously waiting for the right opportunity, and the chance to replace Derrick Henry as the Titans’ featured running back was apparently something he simply could not pass up.
With another 450 rushing yards, Adrian Peterson would take over one of the top four spots in NFL history for career rushing yards. He’s just behind Barry Sanders in that category right now.
Once again, there is no “replacing” Derrick Henry. It’s not like the Titans even attempt to keep Henry fresh on a week-to-week basis with a committee approach or anything like that. He was on pace this season for over 500 total touches and despite his high volume of touches, defenses don’t seem to be able to stop this guy.
An injured foot will do it, though.
While everyone else is thinking of which running backs the Titans could possibly trade for before the deadline on Tuesday, November 2, the Titans are out here bringing in a living legend for a workout.
They may supplement the Adrian Peterson move by bringing in some added insurance, too. Maybe they really will just rely on a player like Jeremy McNichols to play a bigger role throughout the rest of the regular season.
Neither Peterson nor McNichols is capable of shouldering the kind of workload Derrick Henry is leaving behind, but this simply means that there will be a lot more work for the receivers in Tennessee.
Maybe they go out and sign Adrian Peterson, and then couple that move by trading for a receiving threat at the tight end position.
Whatever they do, the Titans can’t simply sit back and lick their wounds. This team is atop the AFC right now and they have an opportunity to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Perhaps Derrick Henry can get back for a playoff run, but until that point, it looks like the Titans will have to make do in other ways.
Adding a former league MVP, even if that was a decade ago, is a fun move for this squad.