Titans RB Derrick Henry ‘motivated and ready to go’

Derrick Henry‘s memories of the Titans‘ playoff loss to the Bengals last season have stuck with him. They fueled his offseason and motivated him to get back to pre-injury form.

Henry missed the second half of 2021 with a broken right foot and then returned for Tennessee’s divisional round meeting with Cincinnati. After tallying just 62 yards on 20 carries in the 19-16 loss, he’s out to prove any doubters wrong.

“I get motivated by anything,” Henry told Titans team reporter Jim Wyatt. “Someone could motivate me and wouldn’t even know it. … The doubters, whatever they want to be, I am definitely motivated and ready to go. We’re going to see.”

Henry was back on the field at Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville for a three-day minicamp and made quite the impression with everyone, especially the rookies.

“He’s big,” rookie running back Hassan Haskins said. “I thought I was big. He’s a large guy, not gonna lie. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen nothing like that. He’s so big and so fast. It’s ridiculous.”

Henry has the most rushing yards in the NFL since 2017 with 6,307. He finished 2021 with 937 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight regular-season games. In 2020, he was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns. He led the league in rushing yards and TDs in 2019 as well.

Henry’s offseason training combined with the motivation to find his pre-injury form has him in a positive mood at minicamp.

“I feel good,” Henry said. “I feel real good.”