OWINGS MILLS — Ravens running back Derrick Henry scoffed at the notion he might be slowing down as an NFL player at age 30.
He certainly hasn’t shown any signs of aging since he signed with the team in March. Entering Week 5, Henry leads the NFL with 480 yards rushing and has scored at least a touchdown in each of the team’s three games this season.
“I’m sure it’s different for every single person, but there’s a lot of things about Derrick that make him unique – talent is one of them for sure, and work ethic is another one for sure,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s just a very tough human being. Really, the proof is in the results, and you kind of go by what you see. So, when we were evaluating the possibility of bringing him in here, I just think we looked at how he’s been playing. And to see that continue on obviously is great, but we did expect him to play this way, and we’re excited about it.”
Henry ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in a 35-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
Henry has now posted at least 150 rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns in 12 games, tying Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson for the second-most such performances in NFL history. Only Hall-of-Famwer Jim Brown has accomplished this feat on more occasions with 13.
Henry’s four rushing touchdowns mark the second most by a Raven through three games played with the franchise, trailing only Mark Ingram II’s five scores in 2019.
In addition, Henry now has the most rushing yards in a player’s first three games with Ravens (281), passing previous record-holder running back Willis McGahee’s 272 in 2007.
Henry looks comfortable in the Ravens’ offense, which is back to playing smash-mouth football. Overall, Baltimore has the NFL’s top rushing offense with 220.3 yards per game, well ahead of second-ranked Green Bay (174.5).
The average career length for an NFL running back is about 2.5 years — the shortest average career of any NFL position. Henry is playing in his ninth season in the NFL and is clearly bucking that trend. Age is the least of his concerns.
“I don’t really try to focus on the stigma on running backs,” Henry said. “I just believe in my training and the player I am, and just try to go out and execute and help this team in any way possible. Thank God I was able to score on that first play. Like I said, it wasn’t just a great job, it was a great call.”
