NFL: Derrick Henry takes pay cut in bid to crush Chiefs’ three-peat dreams and finally win a Super Bowl with Ravens
The Kansas City Chiefs are eyeing an unprecedented three-peat through the genius of Patrick Mahomes. However standing in their way on the opening day is an $85m man who took a pay cut in a bid to win the Super Bowl.
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He is the $85 million man who has taken a pay cut to win a Super Bowl, and could well be the biggest hurdle between the Chiefs and an unprecedented three-peat.
Derrick Henry, one of the most explosive running backs of the modern era, has joined the Baltimore Ravens this season and takes on the two-time defending champions Kansas City in the opening game of the 2024 season (Friday, 10.15am kick-off AEST live on ESPN).
Ravens fans will recall, bitterly, how their team entered last year’s AFC Championship game against the Chiefs as Super Bowl favourites, only to be eliminated by dogged defence and attacking magic from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
But most disappointing for Baltimore fans was the way their team abandoned their biggest strength all season, their running game.
In the face of suffocating pressure from the Chiefs’ defensive line, led by Chris Jones, the Ravens panicked and Jackson went for broke on long throws or trick plays, abandoning their chief gain-line guy in running back Gus Edwards, who joined the Los Angeles Chargers in the off-season.
In his place comes Henry, and there is no question the Ravens will again lean into their running game with the 2020 NFL offensive player of the year.
Featuring an attack led by superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson, and featuring giant tight end Mark Andrews and the speedy wide receiver Zay Flowers, the Ravens are stacked for offensive options.
But with the addition of the 188cm, 112kg “King Henry”, they have a generational running danger that makes their arsenal more potent this season than last.
Selected in the second round of the 2016 draft by Tennessee Titans, Henry went on to lead the NFL in rushing yards in 2019 and 2020, as well as rushing touchdowns in those same seasons.
In 2020 he signed a four-year deal with the Titans worth $50US million, making him the league’s highest paid running back, and giving him total earnings of $57US million ($85 million).
While he could have sought another lucrative deal in the off-season with offensive-light franchises, the 30-year-old Henry has chosen to chase a Super Bowl ring instead, and signed a two-year deal with the Ravens worth $US16 million.
“I definitely wanted to be somewhere that had a solid foundation,” Henry said upon signing in March.
“This foundation [in Baltimore] has been set for a very long time. They compete every year and [are] always in the conversation. I wanted to be somewhere where I’m surrounded by great talent, have a great quarterback and great players around him as well.”
With the unflinching running potency of Henry in the mix, the Ravens should certainly be throwing more ammunition at the Chiefs defence in the opener at Arrowhead than they managed at their own home ground in the AFC decider.
No team has won three Super Bowls in succession in NFL history, but Mahomes is the genius who could achieve such a feat.
It is more than likely the Chiefs and Ravens will again contest the AFC title for a spot in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans next February, and Henry’s X-factor could be the missing piece that sways momentum in Baltimore’s favour, and ends the Chiefs’ run.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ Super Bowl foes in last season’s Super Bowl thriller, the San Francisco 49ers, were left reeling when rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest last weekend during an alleged armed robbery.
The 23-year-old Pearsall – San Francisco’s No.1 draft pick – was walking through one of the city’s busiest shopping districts when it is alleged a young male approached him and tried to rob him before shots were discharged.
The 49ers said Pearsall suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and after treatment, has been released from hospital. A 17-year-old male has since been charged with a number of offences including attempted murder.
Pearsall has now been listed in the reserve/non-football injury category, and will miss at least the first month of the season.
The 49ers kick off their campaign against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Tuesday (10.15am AEST live on ESPN).
The build-up to the new season has been rocky for the Cincinnati Bengals for an entirely different reason. Their star wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, has refused to attend practice as he demands a pay rise.
The 24-year-old, who is the key offensive weapon for quarterback Joe Burrow, wants a reworked contract that would earn him up to $US35 million a season, as one of – if not the – highest paid wide receiver in the league.
Chase has seen rival wide receivers Justin Jeffersen ($US35 million), CeeDee Lamb ($US34 million), Amon Ra St Brown ($US30 million) and Brandon Aiyuk ($US30 million) negotiate extraordinary annual salaries in the off-season and wants to be in the money.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor says the Chase saga is a “day by day” situation, but it’s hardly ideal as he prepares his team for their opening game against New England Patriots on Monday (3am AEST).
Originally published as NFL: Derrick Henry takes pay cut in bid to crush Chiefs’ three-peat dreams and finally win a Super Bowl with Ravens
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