On Monday, the Tennessee Titans officially had one month left to get a deal done with running back Derrick Henry or else he will be forced to play the 2020 season out on the franchise tag.
The deadline for reaching an agreement with a player on the tag is July 15th. After that, Henry and the Titans can no longer negotiate and the running back will get paid $10.2 million in 2020, which is still a nice chunk of change.
In a recent Zoom call with the media last week, general manager Jon Robinson didn’t have much of an update.
Instead, he reiterated how important Henry is to the Titans and that talks between the two sides remain positive, per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated.
“We had a phone call last week and a phone call the week before that,” Robinson said. “We just kind of continue to work through things. The conversations have been positive between me and the reps there.
“Again, just trying to find some common ground. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Derrick is an important part of what we do. Just trying to find a spot where we all need to be and where we all want to be.”
Henry has already signed his franchise tender, so thankfully there won’t be any holding out. However, if no deal gets done before the deadline, Henry and the Titans could be back in this same boat once again in 2021.
It isn’t clear what Henry is seeking, or what the Titans are willing to pay him, so there’s simply no telling how far apart the two sides are. I remain confident that something will get done before the deadline, though.
