The Tennessee Titans have reportedly placed the franchise tag on running back Derrick Henry.
This means that the Titans simply weren’t able to come to a long-term agreement with the star back, forcing them to place the tag on him before he hits the open market.
The deadline to tag players is on March 16 at 11:59 a.m. ET.
However, this also means that Henry and Ryan Tannehill will be back together in Nashville for at least another season, as Tannehill was signed to a long-term deal on Sunday.
While Henry could play out the entire 2020 season on the tag, Tennessee can still work on a long-term deal with its star back until the July 15 deadline. In the meantime, Henry cannot negotiate with other teams, assuming that he’s under the exclusive tag.
Should no long-term deal be worked out before the deadline, Henry would make about $10.2 million from the franchise tag in 2020 based on the projection of former agent and CBS Sports analyst, Joel Corry.
It’ll be interesting to see if Henry is willing to play under the tag if no long-term deal is reached, or if he’d be someone who holds out. Historically, the latter hasn’t worked out for running backs.
Henry led the NFL in rushing in 2019 with 1,540 yards and then carried the Titans on his back all the way to the AFC Championship Game.
