Henry blasts teams after Barkley, Jacobs disrespected

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Derrick Henry blasts teams after Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs disrespected

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 7/18/23

Many NFL running backs are bonding together by publicly speaking their minds on the league's consistent undervaluing of the position.

After big names like Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard all failed to receive contract extensions prior to the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign one on Monday, it left many players in shock.

The situation was only made worse by the fact that two of the three biggest names pushing for new deals were among the top-performing backs last season.

Jacobs led the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Barkley was No. 4 with 1,312 yards and 10 scores. The two star running backs averaged 4.9 (Jacobs) and 4.4 (Barkley) yards per carry and had 53 and 57 receptions, for good measure.

Among those to speak out on situation was another name at the top of the rushing breakdown from last season, Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry.

Henry, who had 1,538 yards on the ground finishing behind only Jacobs, directly said he supports every running back fighting to get what they deserve, just after taking a shot at the league by stating to "just take the RB position out" of football.

At this point , just take the RB position out the game then . The ones that want to be great & work as hard as they can to give their all to an organization , just seems like it don’t even matter . I’m with every RB that’s fighting to get what they deserve . https://t.co/OgvBWZCKvn
— Derrick Henry  (@KingHenry_2) July 17, 2023

The approach from teams on paying running backs seems to be something sweeping through the league at a fairly rapid rate, and it's hard to debate that the players who have legitimately one of the most pivotal roles in the game aren't underpaid in comparison to every other position.

In terms of Barkley and Jacobs, it'll be interesting to see how things play out with their approach to the 2023 season and a potential holdout.

More must-reads: