Derrick Henry Trade Rumor: Baltimore Ravens 'Most Interested' Team at NFL Deadline?

Derrick Henry Trade Rumor: Baltimore Ravens 'Most Interested' Team at NFL Deadline?

The buzz around the idea of the three-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry joining the Baltimore Ravens via an NFL trade dump by the Tennessee Titans is growing, with one report insisting that the Ravens are the "most interested'' team ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline.

Even the Ravens own website labels it "a tantalizing thought.'' But is the report accurate? here are two wobbly wheels on this Henry-to-Ravens bandwagon.

Derrick Henry and the Ravens

One - In the report from A to Z Sports, the author states matter-of-factly "that the Ravens are the team that has expressed the most interest in Henry.'' It is frankly a bit unorthodox for an accredited journalist to make such a statement without citing a source. That doesn't make is untrue; it just makes it "wobbly.''

Two - The author writes, "But any potential deal could fall through if the compensation is not right.'' This is a self-evident fudge; obviously, if "the compensation is not right'' there will be no "deal.''

All things considered, we will suggest right now that this is more about an "idea'' than it is about intense conversations between the two teams ... meaning we aren't quite advanced to "potential deal''-level just yet.

What are the factors here? Henry has great credentials but is a 29-year-old back with a $12.9 million (final-year) contract. Is he $12.9 better than Gus Edwards and the guys Baltimore is using?

If the answer is "yes'' - and there is no doubt that the teaming of Henry and quarterback Lamar Jackson is a sexy one - then comes the issue of trade compensation.

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We've seen some wild media guesstimates. Bleacher Report suggests Devin Duvernay, a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick. And A to Z mentions a complicated concept that tells us this trade should be like Tennessee's 2019 trade for QB Ryan Tannehill, in which they "sent a 2020 fourth-round pick along with a 2019 seventh-round pick in exchange for Tannehill and a 2019 sixth-round pick.''

So ... in other words, Henry can be had for a fourth-round pick? We have no idea at this stage if that is at all true. So while some of this would indeed be "fantastic,'' we're left wondering if a non-sourced "statement of fact'' about the Ravens' pursuit of Derrick Henry is at all true.