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Derrick Henry Defends Under Fire Ravens Teammate Amid Doubts

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rodney Knuppel | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 12:37 PM ET

Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens are set to take center stage on "Monday Night Football" to wrap up Week 3 of the NFL slate.

The Ravens are coming off a blowout win over the Cleveland Browns to start the season 1-1. That victory came after the Week 1 collapse in Buffalo where they lost 41-40 to Josh Allen and the Bills.

With the spotlight on the Ravens, Henry spoke about one of his new teammates who has been hearing plenty of doubt.

When asked about 33-year-old DeAndre Hopkins, Henry responded, "Hopefully, they keep calling him 'washed' because that [expletive] has been working. We need it."

It was Lamar Jackson who first brought up the criticism Hopkins was facing early this season. After the Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, Jackson referred to the talk of Hopkins being "washed."

"But he's showing otherwise," Jackson said. "The guy has huge hands to catch the ball, one hand, two fingers, it doesn't really matter."

Hopkins entered the league as the 27th overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Clemson. He has two receptions in each of the first two games this season, with one touchdown in each contest.

The veteran finished 2024 with the Kansas City Chiefs and played in their Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Hopkins started this season with 83 career touchdowns. After his two scoring receptions this year, he now sits 15 away from reaching 100 career touchdowns.

Baltimore will visit Kansas City to close September before returning home for games against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams to start October.

The Detroit Lions visit the Baltimore Ravens at 8:15 p.m. ET Monday on ABC and ESPN.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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