Will Derrick Henry be a Bill in 2024?

[Bill from NYC]

Henry has always been one of my favorite players since his college days, but remember; even as far back as his college years he gets better with a larger number of carries. The man would literally beat up defenders, and I'm not at all sure that he is capable of a large number of carries any more.

[BuffaloBillyG]

I can't understand what the infatuation is with Ty Johnson. He's just a guy. 4.4 ypc. A whopping 132 rushing yards on the season...of which 54 came against the Cowboys in a game they refused to stop the run. Granted he's probably able to be resigned on the cheap. But he's mediocre. He does nothing to move the needle on offense. 

 

I look at it like this. If we were facing a team that had Ty Johnson starting or seeing significant snaps...are we nervous? No. Sign him cheap, let him compete for the RB 4 role? I'm down. Bringing him back as RB 2 would be a huge mistake. 

 

RB is a sneaky need for this team in FA and the draft. SPOTRAC has Henry's market value at $4.3M. If he could be had at that price I'm kicking the tires. 2 other guys I'm looking at are A.J. Dillion and Zach Moss...both with market values in the same neighborhood.

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire could also be a sneaky option. His market value is listed at a mere $1.6M. Joe Brady was on the LSU staff with him. And Brandon Beane has a history of grabbing players that perform well against the Bills. CEH dominated the Bills for 161 yards in the COVID year game in Orchard Park as well as having 2 key runs in the playoffs this year. I think he may be the Damien Harris replacement.

 

Edited February 4 by BuffaloBillyG

[Dr. Who]

16 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I can't understand what the infatuation is with Ty Johnson. He's just a guy. 4.4 ypc. A shopping 132 rushing yards on the season...of which 54 came against the Cowboys in a game they refused to stop the run. Granted he's probably able to be resigned on the cheap. But he's mediocre. He does nothing to move the needle on offense. 

 

I look at it like this. If we were facing a team that had Ty Johnson starting or seeing significant snaps...are we nervous? No. Sign him cheap, let him compete for the RB 4 role? I'm down. Bringing him back as RB 2 would be a huge mistake. 

 

RB is a sneaky need for this team in FA and the draft. SPOTRAC has Henry's market value at $4.3M. If he could be had at that price I'm kicking the tires. 2 other guys I'm looking at are A.J. Dillion and Zach Moss...both with market values in the same neighborhood.

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire could also be a sneaky option. His market value is listed at a mere $1.6M. Joe Brady was on the LSU staff with him. And Brandon Beane has a history of grabbing players that perform well against the Bills. CEH dominated the Bills for 161 yards in the COVID year game in Orchard Park as well as having 2 key runs in the playoffs this year. I think he may be the Damien Harris replacement.

 

I'd like to get a rb with size in the draft. Braelon Allen is the fella I really like, but he probably goes between our 2nd and 3rd pick. Isaiah Davis later is someone I would look at.

[The Red King]

I would love to have him on the team, I really would.  But the league has a salery cap and the Bills' have many other positions in worse shape then RB.

Edited February 4 by The Red King

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, Dr. Who said:

I'd like to get a rb with size in the draft. Braelon Allen is the fella I really like, but he probably goes between our 2nd and 3rd pick. Isaiah Davis later is someone I would look at.

I don't watch a lot of college ball so I am not familiar with either name. I usually wait until around this time of year to start looking at guys. Watch the combine and any televised pro days. I find for myself not watching college allows me to see prospects with a bit more neutral eye rather than base my opinion off what they did at that level. 

 

But I'll definitely be marking those names down as ones to check out. Thanks for the suggestions. 

[T master]

Murray would probably cost less & do just about as good .

[FireChans]

4 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

We're talking about the guy like he's toast and begging for a job. I'll say it again, regardless of everything that's said, he was still #2 in the league in Rushing last season. He's not completely fallen off like an Ezekiel Elliott or Dalvin Cook. Teams were willing to give up Draft Picks just to rent him for the Playoffs.

 

And there's a difference between an affordable RB and affordable for Derrick Henry.

 

We're in the 1-2 million range for the role we're looking for given who we already have there, our cap, and all of the bodies (including starters) we need to replace elsewhere.

 

Instead of the 10.5m he's been on, he'll be more in the 5.5-6.5 range. A really good deal would be like 4.5m. Simply not going to do that for a change of pace back, especially in the shape we're in. And someone will offer him a role more than just change of pace.

Aren’t Saquon, Josh Jacobs, and Austin Ekeler all expected to be available as FA’s?

[hondo in seattle]

I'd love to have Derrick Henry.  In his prime.  On a rookie contract. 

 

What I truly want is a young Cookie Gilchrist.  Someone who will pound the rock up the middle for 243 yards and force opposing DCs to defend the run.  Someone with a mean attitude who will throw a would-be tackler to the ground so violently that he has to be carted off the field.  And then after the play, go to the enemy sideline and yell out a challenge, "Who's f**king next?"   That'll fire up the offense.  

 

Today's second-level defensive players are better at coverage than tackling.  They're faster than they are strong.  Lookie, Lookie, Here Comes Cookie would be like a locomotive smashing through a matchstick barrier.   Trying to load the box to stop him would give Josh a field day.  

 

Are there any Cookies in the draft?   

 

Edited February 4 by hondo in seattle

[DBilz2500]

You can find serviceable RBs anywhere at just about any given time. Last thing I’m worried about at the moment. Let’s focus on WRs, safeties, and DL.

[nedboy7]

I wouldn't mind him on my Tennis League team. 

[TheFunPolice]

A ring for the king 

[Chaos]

The Bills have been trying to build a defense to stop the chiefs in the playoffs. I think it is clear no matter how many resources committed to defense, the Bills do not have the abilty to do this. I think they need to focus on how to score 35+ against the chiefs in the playoffs.  I do not know if Henry helps with that or not.  If he does help to accomplish that.  Go get him. If not, pass 

Edited February 4 by Chaos

[FireChans]

3 minutes ago, Chaos said:

The Bills have been trying to build a defense to stop the chiefs in the playoffs. I think it is clear no matter how many resources committed to defense, do the Bills have the abilty to do this. I think they need to focus on how to score 35+ against the chiefs in the playoffs.  I do not know if Henry helps with that or not.  If he does help to accomplish that.  Go get him. If not, pass 

Henry + Allen in redzone situations is as close to an unstoppable combo as it gets in the NFL, imo.

[Mister Defense]

Nope, too old, and Bean hopefully learned his lesson with Miller, his worst move as a GM.  An awful splash play that violated "the process" approach that had worked so well.

 

While Henry has some good, great games left in him probably,  he is likely no longer a consistent high level back.

 

Get him for cheap, then sure, worth it, but likely going to be payed more by some team.

 

But I do think, hope, the Bills get a young, physical and all around back, which will make Cook even more valuable and likely greatly extend his playing career.  Early rounds of draft, or, even better, a great steal in free agency. But I think teams are learning how valuable a great running game is (again) in the NFL and a steal is less likely this year.

 

 

 

Edited February 4 by Mister Defense

[folz]

Pros:

He still had 1,395 yards from scrimmage this year, with a 4.2/rush average, and 12 TDs.

He has been an absolute beast over the last 6 years, averaging almost 1,576 yards from scrimmage and 14 TDs per season.

He's been durable. Other than missing the back half of the 2021 season with a broken foot, he has only missed 3 games over the other seven years of his career.

 

Cons:

He's 30 years old.

He has 2,030 rushes over his career. He has averaged 306 carries/year over the last 5 years. That's a lot of mileage on those tires.

He may still cost a pretty penny.

[Jimmy Harris 69]

The idea of having King Henry in your backfield is great, the financial reality is not. We don’t need a running back version of Von Miller. He will patch together some terrific games but he will disappear. Cook should be on the field more, not less. Unfortunately Coach feels the need to punish the team by taking Cook off the field for making mistakes. I agree with other posts about Ty Johnson if we can afford him, bring him back. Overall we must get younger and faster on offense. There is no room for one dimensional guys like Tyler Matakevich or Latavious Murray taking up roster spots. Keep that rookie “speed merchant” on your active roster as another weapon for your all pro QB. All the resources McD poured into his poor special teams could have made his offense what—-10 or 15% better. That wins games instead of losing them to Guy Smiley. Not that I care. I don’t even like the Bills. Stupid divisional round bumblers. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

This basic idea works when you think about Terrell Davis finally putting Elway over the top, but Davis was 5x the back that Henry is at this stage of his career. I don’t think Henry is ready to consider himself a complimentary back with a commensurate salary quite yet, so I’m pretty sure he would be expensive anyway 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

there may be a way…

 

 

 

Edited February 4 by ControllerOfPlanetX

[SectionC3]

19 hours ago, starrymessenger said:

Nope. Sign Ty Johnson.

I'm good with Johnson for another year.  Tough.  Runs the sweep well.  Reliable with the ball.  Catches relatively well.  We can do worse at RB2 given the resources we have and holes we need to fill. 

[Dunkirk Donski]

Can we afford Travis Henry ?

[starrymessenger]

22 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

I'm good with Johnson for another year.  Tough.  Runs the sweep well.  Reliable with the ball.  Catches relatively well.  We can do worse at RB2 given the resources we have and holes we need to fill. 

I think he catches really well. Don’t think he had a single drop. 

[BillsFanForever19]

51 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

I'm good with Johnson for another year.  Tough.  Runs the sweep well.  Reliable with the ball.  Catches relatively well.  We can do worse at RB2 given the resources we have and holes we need to fill. 

 

That's what it really comes down to. Another year where we're in better shape financially or we didn't have so many holes to fill, maybe 4-5m on Henry to pair with Cook wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

But since we're in terrible shape with both, it's just not something we can afford to do. We're not in a position for luxury items like carrying two of the top 4 RB's in Rushing would be for what it would cost.

 

The 4-5m ticket items (or more) will have to go to starting positions like WR, DE, DT, and S.

Edited February 4 by BillsFanForever19

[bigK14094]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:38 PM, TheyCallMeAndy said:

What did we learn about old power backs this season?

He earned his salary and was a surprising receiving threat.

11 hours ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

I can't understand what the infatuation is with Ty Johnson. He's just a guy. 4.4 ypc. A whopping 132 rushing yards on the season...of which 54 came against the Cowboys in a game they refused to stop the run. Granted he's probably able to be resigned on the cheap. But he's mediocre. He does nothing to move the needle on offense. 

 

I look at it like this. If we were facing a team that had Ty Johnson starting or seeing significant snaps...are we nervous? No. Sign him cheap, let him compete for the RB 4 role? I'm down. Bringing him back as RB 2 would be a huge mistake. 

 

RB is a sneaky need for this team in FA and the draft. SPOTRAC has Henry's market value at $4.3M. If he could be had at that price I'm kicking the tires. 2 other guys I'm looking at are A.J. Dillion and Zach Moss...both with market values in the same neighborhood.

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire could also be a sneaky option. His market value is listed at a mere $1.6M. Joe Brady was on the LSU staff with him. And Brandon Beane has a history of grabbing players that perform well against the Bills. CEH dominated the Bills for 161 yards in the COVID year game in Orchard Park as well as having 2 key runs in the playoffs this year. I think he may be the Damien Harris replacement.

 

The Brady connection makes this plausible.  Can't tell though, CEH may not want to be #2 behind Cook.

[DCofNC]

I’m for it, would be nice to have a guy who can be a hammer AND a home run threat all at once.  I’d feel much better about him getting key touches vs Cook.  The amount of times Cook screwed up in key moments is concerning, Henry is the consummate pro, even if he’s on the back end of his career.   I doubt we can afford him, but I’d be excited to have him.

[T master]

There won't be enough cap to bring in someone like the King, he will demand more cash than say Ty Johnson and then because he is Henry they will plan accordingly i would rather have someone that doesn't draw as much attention to the run game & are more of a surprise or less known commodity in our run game .

[DallasBillsFan1]

Should have got McCAffrey when we had the chance ...not Von.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:37 PM, FireChans said:

I’m slowly getting more and more convinced this is the kind of old good player that Beane will go after. Especially with Brady’s emphasis on the run and McD being a defensive guy. A pound the rock for 3 YPC guy just feels right.

 

So what do we think?

 

 

Sure. Why not? with -$40M in cap space, I think this would be the perfect signing for the most pressing position 

[JoeF]

A little fuel to the fire....

 

 

[Bangarang]

We likely cant afford him.  

[JoeF]

6 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

We likely cant afford him.  

I think the Bills pay in magic Beanes - don't count against the cap...😉.  I'm here all week.  Try the Chicken Piccata...

[Alphadawg7]

On 2/3/2024 at 4:37 PM, FireChans said:

I’m slowly getting more and more convinced this is the kind of old good player that Beane will go after. Especially with Brady’s emphasis on the run and McD being a defensive guy. A pound the rock for 3 YPC guy just feels right.

 

So what do we think?

 

While its totally possible...people need to stop regurgitating this stuff about McD being conservative or just wanting to pound the rock.  Its utter nonsense and McD has not only been one of the most aggressive HC's in the league during the Allen era, he has repeatedly talked about wanting big plays, high octane offense.  There is literally no truth at all other than pre-determined fan bias off assumptions because he was from a defensive background that McD has any interest in a "pound the rock" offense.  

 

What he wanted, which everyone on Earth KNEW we NEEDED...was balance of having an actual run game that help Josh out so he doesn't have to do it all and to help open up the pass game more too.  

 

I swear, the fact this absurd nonsense about him being conservative or only wants to run the ball persists is mind boggling.  Literally not a shred of factual truth to it what so ever.  

[Utah John]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:37 PM, FireChans said:

I’m slowly getting more and more convinced this is the kind of old good player that Beane will go after. Especially with Brady’s emphasis on the run and McD being a defensive guy. A pound the rock for 3 YPC guy just feels right.

 

So what do we think?

For the vet minimum, sure.  Let's see what he's got left.  But some team will offer him millions and the Bills won't compete for him.

[BillsFanForever19]

4 hours ago, JoeF said:

A little fuel to the fire....

 

 

 

I don't doubt Henry would want to come here. But unless he's willing to take like half or less than half of what others will offer and a Damien Harris type of contract (which we may not even go as high as considering we know what we have in Cook now as opposed to last offseason), it's not happening.

 

I see it like a DeAndre Hopkins situation with us last year. He may want to play here. But when he gets his offers from other teams and what we'd be able to offer (if we do at all), that won't matter. The discrepancy will be too great. Players will accept less to play with a contender, but that only goes so far.

 

Side note - the last shot that gets frozen on when you finish the video is hilarious. Cook be looking like "man, why are you asking me this?" 😆

Edited February 5 by BillsFanForever19

[Warriorspikes51]

13 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

I don't doubt Henry would want to come here. But unless he's willing to take like half or less than half of what others will offer and a Damien Harris type of contract (which we may not even go as high as considering we know what we have in Cook now as opposed to last offseason), it's not happening.

 

I see it like a DeAndre Hopkins situation with us last year. He may want to play here. But when he gets his offers from other teams and what we'd be able to offer (if we do at all), that won't matter. The discrepancy will be too great. Players will accept less to play with a contender, but that only goes so far.

 

Side note - the last shot that gets frozen on when you finish the video is hilarious. Cook be looking like "man, why are you asking me this?" 😆

Cook is picturing his touches being taken away! no more red zone carries for James!!! Not like he got them anyway

Edited February 5 by Warriorspikes51

[starrymessenger]

I think the Bills will sign Ty Johnson. IMO hes more than a JAG. Of course hes not a power back but there is a guy who some feel could be hanging around mid day three who could give you all you need and more for the next four years - Audric Estime.

[dpberr]

The only way I'd want Derrick Henry as a Bill in 2024 is if he's cool playing mid-November onwards and sits on the bench for September/October.  That's the bargain for a Super Bowl opportunity.  

 

I'd want his peak production to be right at the last week of the season/first week of playoffs, and between Allen, Cook and Henry, operate a 1987 playbook of beating the opponent defense to death with run after run after run after run...

 

 

[colin]

this would be a strong thing for the team if we had fewer needs and more cap.  i don't see how we could fit him in, but i suppose anything is possible.

 

we absolutely need an upgrade at wr, and possibly 2, but we should be able to get that with a couple draft picks.

 

we need a new 1t (or resign d jones) starter, and we need 2 more DTs and 2 more DEs.  some cheapos can fill in, but some picks will be needed too.

 

we also need at least 1 new starting safety, maybe 2, and we lost our two back ups as well.  

 

presuming all of that is completed (and we clear up 50 sticks in cap, MY GOSH SO MUCH) and he's on a fairly reasonable contract, then ya DHen might be a big addition to the team.

 

part of the issue we have on o is altho the top line production is very good, and our qb is the goat (ill fight you on this) and our OL is more than solid, the drop off from our 1s to our 2s is SHOCKING.  cook to murray is awful, TJ is ok tho.  diggs to davis is a big drop, and davis to the next guy on the roster is awful.  kinkaid to knox (14mm for like 9 games and a couple nice catches and more drops) is a bad drop off too.  if henry means we can run mostly the same stuff w cook and him and get those great 1st down runs we've often gotten with brady, then he could be a huge get.

 

if our d is gonna falter some over the regs, and be what it has always been in the playoffs (sharp disgusting cheeks) then having a better run game to just play keep away might be completely necessary.

[ngbills]

Do not see it. Henry is in his final years to try and make good $. He will be on the Bills in 3 years when he is making the vet min. I could see them getting a guy like Swift or Ekeler though.

[billieve420]

I against investing any significant dollars at the RB position. Better offensive line can make an average back look good so that is where money should go to if anything. Denver had system where they could churn out 1000 yd runners yearly that should be the goal.

[Big Turk]

Hell no. Ridiculous