Derrick Henry acknowledged Sunday that his Tennessee Titans career could be ending on a low note.

The Titans were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Sunday’s 19-16 overtime loss to the Houston Texans. Henry openly considered after the game that this might have been his last shot at a playoff run with the club.

“Yeah, definitely today you had that feeling [that it could be the end of my career with the Titans],” Henry said, via Turron Davenport of ESPN. “I had hope of kind of slipping in there [the playoffs], and then being eliminated with three games left. I’ve been here my whole career. Definitely wanted to go out strong, which isn’t the case.”

Henry will be a free agent after the season. He turns 30 next month, taking him into the latter stage of his career as an NFL running back who has logged some heavy workloads. Henry’s decorated pro career includes a 2019-20 stretch in which he was the NFL’s rushing leader in yards and touchdowns, a 2-time All-Pro selection and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2020).

While Henry had hoped to contend, he’s still give his best for the remainder of 2023.

“I’ll try to give it my all in these last three games and leave it all on the field,” Henry said after the game.

For the season, Henry has 884 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 230 carries. He made unfortunate NFL history Sunday for fewest total yards (10) on 20 touches (16 carries, 4 receptions).

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.