Buckeyes Now

Mike Vrabel Mask: "Please Give the Ball to Derrick Henry"

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel wore a rather comical mask as his team prepared to travel to Denver for Monday Night Football.

Brendan Gulick

Mike Vrabel Mask: "Please Give the Ball to Derrick Henry"
Mike Vrabel Mask: "Please Give the Ball to Derrick Henry" /

There's been plenty of talk about the former Ohio State players in the NFL lately, and for good reason - there are 50 Buckeyes that made NFL 53-man rosters for Week 1, which concludes tonight with a pair of Monday Night Football games.

One former Buckeye that hasn't gotten enough NFL preseason attention from us at BuckeyesNow? Former linebacker and current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel and the Titans open their 2020 campaign tonight in Denver against the Broncos.

Of course, Tennessee is coming off a incredible season that ended in heart-break. The Titans led Kansas City last year in the AFC title game 17-7 in the second quarter, but surrendered 28 straight points and couldn't complete a late-game comeback. The Chiefs won the game 35-24 and went on to win the Super Bowl in February.

But Vrabel's team is ready to put 2019 behind them and start fresh in 2020. And frankly, any team that has Derrick Henry running the football has a legitimate chance to win on any given Sunday.

When things go wrong with their favorite teams, most NFL fans tend to yell and scream to give the ball to their best playmakers. Good news for Titans fans - Mike Vrabel seems to have a pretty good handle on that.

Vrabel rolled up to the team's plane for their road trip wearing a mask that says "please give the ball to Derrick Henry."

Since Vrabel took over the job two years ago, the Titans have given the ball to the former Heisman Trophy winner an awful lot. Henry led the NFL in rushing last year with 303 carries and 1,540 yards. He scored 16 touchdowns before leading the Titans on a memorable playoff run that included wins over Tom Brady and the Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens, led by NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

This offseason, the Titans rewarded Henry with a 4-year, $50 million contract. With that kind of commitment, its safe to say Coach Vrabel will be handing the ball to Derrick Henry plenty more the next few years.

Stay tuned to BuckeyesNow and all of our social media outlets (@BuckeyesNowSI) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for continued coverage!

Published
Brendan Gulick
BRENDAN GULICK

Brendan Gulick is the publisher for BuckeyesNow, Cleveland Baseball Insider and Cavs Insider on the FanNation Network. He is also an accomplished host and play-by-play voice on TV and radio, including on Big Ten Network and NCAA.com where he's called 45 NCAA national championships. Gulick is an update anchor and fill-in host at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Ohio.

Home/News