Replacing injured running back Derrick Henry won’t…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans 34-31 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday gave them a three-game lead in the AFC South division and the best record in the conference. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Titans had a 97% chance to win the division as of yesterday.

Then the unthinkable happened.

The Titans received news running back Derrick Henry suffered a severe foot injury according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Henry is scheduled to get an MRI on Monday. The fear is Henry suffered a Jones fracture and may need season-ending surgery on his right foot.

“There’s no player in the league that means more to his football team than Derrick Henry,” ESPN NFL analyst Rex Ryan said. “This is the biggest loss you can have. It takes them from being in the one or two best teams in the AFC. They ain’t going nowhere without him.”

The injury occurred in the first quarter causing Henry to leave the game. The trainers looked at his foot but Henry came back in and finished with 29 carries for 68 yards.

The Titans pulled off a close win over the Colts despite Henry not having the same explosiveness when carrying the football. That was in large part thanks to A.J. Brown‘s 10 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Henry fell short of the 100-yard rushing plateau in the last two Titans victories. But continuing to win won’t be easy without Henry, whose 937 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns lead the NFL.

Since 2019, the Titans are 18-3 when Henry rushes for 100 or more yards and 8-10 when he doesn’t hit that 100-yard mark.

Derrick Henry has made up for 79.3% of the teams rushing yards so far this season (937 rush yds). https://t.co/dmJ2NCNegZ pic.twitter.com/x4Pox14cBM

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 1, 2021

Brown has caught 25 of the 29 targets from quarterback Ryan Tannehill over the last three games, resulting in 379 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans’ passing game began to heat up as opposing defenses devoted most of their resources to slowing Henry which generated a lot of one-on-one coverage against the wide receivers. Tennessee repeatedly got big gains by way of the play-action passing game which is most effective when Henry is in the backfield because of the threat he presents when carrying the football.

Without that threat, teams will be less likely to stack the box and focus more on stopping the passing game.

The Titans don’t have many in-house options after placing 2020 third-round pick Darrynton Evans on injured reserve. Jeremy McNichols has been the primary backup for Henry but he only has seven carries for 38 yards this season.

Here are some possible options for the Titans:

D’Onta Foreman, free agent

Tennessee worked Foreman out last week according to a team source. Although he isn’t anywhere near as explosive, at 6-foot-1, 236 pounds, Foreman has the type of frame that matches the Titans’ desire to wear teams out with a pounding rushing attack. Foreman had 22 carries for 95 yards in five games for the Titans last season.

Adrian Peterson, free agent

Perhaps the best match for the Titans would be veteran running back Adrian Peterson who is set to meet with the team in Nashville on Monday according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Adding Peterson wouldn’t require parting with draft picks and even though he is 36 years old, the veteran back is said to have kept himself in great shape and would have fresh legs coming to the Titans.

Peterson started 10 games for the Detroit Lions last season and finished with 604 yards along with seven touchdowns on 156 carries.

Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles

Sanders would require giving away assets in a trade but he offers a home run threat. He had three runs of at least 74 yards last season. Sanders has 63 carries for 300 yards this season and doesn’t have a big cap number ($1.4 million) so he’d easily fit under the what the Titans have available.