Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and running back Derrick Henry were teammates for two seasons at Alabama, and the two are close friends.
Which is why the 27-year-old Humphrey was just as surprised as everyone else when he learned on Tuesday that Henry would be signing with the Ravens via social media and not from Henry himself.
No way we was texting yesterday and you didn’t even say nothing about this lol @KingHenry_2 https://t.co/NgQzCeJ6g9
— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) March 12, 2024
There was speculation that the Ravens were favored to land Henry when the legal tampering period began on Monday, but other teams including the Houston Texans also made a push for him.
Henry, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection, agreed to terms on a two-year, $16M deal with the Ravens, marking the first time since he was drafted 45th overall in 2016 that he’ll play for a team other than the Tennessee Titans.
Henry’s addition gives the Ravens a modern-day thunder-and-lightning backfield duo along with second-year RB Keaton Mitchell.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry is one of the more physical runners in the NFL. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2018, he’s had 900 or more yards after contact in six of seven seasons (he was limited to just nine games in 2021) and he’s averaged 71 missed tackles forced per season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Conversely, Mitchell is one of the speedier backs in the NFL having run a 4.37 40-yard dash at the combine last year. He appeared in only eight games as a rookie in 2023, but he had at least one run of 20 yards or longer in each of the six games he carried the ball and his 8.4 yards per carry led the league among players with 45 or more rushing attempts, per PFF.
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