Cleveland Should Explore a Deal for Derrick Henry

The rumor mill is churning and it sounds like Derrick Henry may be a name to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.

I want to preface this story by acknowledging that this is just a rumor. To this point, no insider or credible source has reported Derrick Henry to be on the trade block. But it’s always a fun thought exercise to consider how your favorite teams can get better, so it's hard not to dream of what King Henry would look like in Orange and Brown.

The trade deadline is quickly approaching and Andrew Berry has been steadfast in saying that he is always looking to improve the roster (while also feeling confident in their current group).

At the beginning of this season, Cleveland had what many believed to be a top roster in the NFL. They were in win-now mode and loaded up the roster accordingly. As we enter Week 7, the Browns are bruised and battered, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

Cleveland Browns running back suffered a gruesome injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers and early report reports from Jordan Schultz confirm what most would suspect / © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Chubb going down for the season in Week 2 was not an ideal start to the year. Deshaun Watson getting banged up in Week 3 was no cherry on top. Without a miraculous victory on Sunday, the Browns might have been on the outside looking in, with perhaps one of the best defenses of all time.

Would trading for Derrick Henry help solve some of the issues that the Browns are having on offense? In my opinion, it certainly wouldn't hurt.

I don't want to approach this question like I am running a Madden '23 franchise with "auto-trade" on. Let's take a critical look at this to see if it is realistically a route the Browns could explore.

Henry is in the final year of his four-year $50M contract that he signed in 2020. At the conclusion of this season, he will be an unrestricted free agent and will likely move on from Tennessee. He has a base salary this year of $10.5M and we are 38.8 percent of the way through (roughly $4M). 

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) runs for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023 :: © Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Before the year began Cleveland went on a "restructuring" spree where players like David Njoku, Myles Garrett, Wyatt Teller and more restructured their deals to get their money upfront. This reduced the team’s cap hits later in their contracts as Watson's salary hit is going to increase significantly.

By restructuring, the Browns created $35M of free cap space on their roster this season. 

According to Sportrac, the team that acquires a player acquires any unpaid guaranteed money that is owed. The acquiring team also has no liability for any bonus money paid to the player.

The one-year rental that would be Derrick Henry would cost the Browns $7.5M in cap space in 2023. He would then likely move on in Free Agency and Nick Chubb would be back behind Watson in '24.

I think Andrew Berry should make a call to Tennessee to find out what the cost is. The Browns don’t have a lot of draft capital to deal, but perhaps Tennessee is interested in something Cleveland would be willing to part with.

Henry is known for getting stronger as December and January come around. The Browns must be able to dominate the run game to be a factor in the AFC as the weather starts to turn

If the rumors are true and he is available, Derrick Henry would be a perfect fit as a Cleveland Brown and the team has the cap space to take on his contract.