Despite being in his 30s, running back Derrick Henry had one of the best years of his career in 2024.
Henry signed with the Baltimore Ravens last offseason, and it was a match made in football heaven. His 1,921 rushing yards were the 11th-most in a single season in NFL history, and his 16 rushing touchdowns were tied for the most in the league.
Given his age and coming off somewhat of a down year (by his insane standards) with the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore signed Henry to a bargain contract of two years for $16 million. After well outperforming that deal last season, NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha is asking when the Ravens will give Henry a pay raise.
“Henry is entering the last year of a two-year, $16 million deal, and he clearly outperformed his contractual value in 2024, when all he did was log the best campaign ever by a running back 30 years or older (1,921 yards on the ground, with 18 total touchdowns). If not for Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley, Henry likely would’ve ended up as the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. Henry should actually be thankful for Barkley when it comes to a different matter, though: The Eagles quickly moved to raise Barkley’s pay after he helped them win a Super Bowl, increasing his average annual salary from $12.58 million to $20.6 million. Like Henry, Barkley had a seismic impact on his franchise in his first season with a new team in 2024. Of course, the concern with Henry is that he’s not Barkley. He’s older (Henry is 31; Barkley is 28) and has logged more carries (2,355 to 1,546). However, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta raved about Henry while speaking to media at the NFL Scouting Combine, suggesting he’s not willing to place his star in the same category that many people put running backs. We’ll see what that means for Henry’s bank account in the coming months. He was arguably the biggest bargain in the league last season, and that certainly needs to change.” – NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha
Henry’s total contract value is currently the 12th-highest in the league, and his $9 million in guaranteed money ranks 16 among all RBs. A restructure could not only give him a nice raise in 2025, but possibly give Baltimore a little extra salary cap space.
The Ravens may be interested in extending Henry, but age is still a factor even with him still being productive. They may wait until after they’ve signed their 2025 draft picks, and perhaps another free agent addition. Regardless, they should definitely get it done before the start of the training camp, especially seeing the Eagles taking care of Barkley.
