Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry raised some eyebrows when he affirmed during an interview last month that Ezekiel Elliott’s contract represented the “floor” when it came to his impending free-agent contract discussions.
It turns out the comment stemmed from Henry simply misunderstanding a question, and the 2019 Pro Bowler has since attempted to clarify as much.
The confusion over what Henry meant to convey stems from his appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” during Super Bowl Week. Eisen asked Henry if the six-year, $90 million contract signed by Elliott last September — making the Dallas Cowboys star the highest-paid running back in the NFL — represented the starting point for his upcoming contract negotiations.
Such a proclamation, unsurprisingly, led to speculation that Henry was seeking to usurp Elliott as the league’s richest running back. That’s apparently not the case, as Henry has since clarified his remarks during an appearance this week on Barstool Sports’ “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast.
“Basically I misunderstood what Rich said. I was basically agreeing to ‘Zeke is the floor’ as far as to my understanding … as him being the highest-paid,” Henry said. “He’s the peak of where running backs want to be at as far as getting paid. That was my understanding of him saying ‘Zeke is the floor.’
“Like I said in every other interview, I’ll get my agent, he will handle all the contract negotiations, that’s his job, he’s been doing it for a long time and we’ll see where it goes as far as the Titans and trying to get this thing figured out.”
Henry, who led the NFL in rushing this past season (1,540 yards, 5.1 yards per carry), without question stands to get paid handsomely with his next contract after almost single-handedly carrying the Titans to the AFC Championship Game.
Whether that means he’s back with the Titans or headed elsewhere, it sounds like Henry doesn’t necessarily need to land a bigger contract than Elliott in the process.
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