Bleacher Report Recommends Derrick Henry Trade for Vikings
Dustin Baker
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Filed under stuff you didn’t expect to see for the 2023 Minnesota Vikings, the purple team is evidently a trade destination if the Tennessee Titans offload their three-time Pro Bowler, Derrick Henry, in the next seven weeks.
The NFL’s trade deadline is on Halloween.
Bleacher Report Recommends Derrick Henry Trade for Vikings
And while there is no notable evidence to suggest the Titans would say goodbye to Henry after eight seasons — Tennessee has a 1-1 record and is very much alive in the weak AFC South — Bleacher Report seems to believe the future Hall of Famer could be on the move.
Through two weeks, the Vikings employ the weakest rushing attack in the sport, chiefly because they’re not even bothering to run the rock. Minnesota has rushed the ball 26 times, or 13 per game, whereas the average NFL team accrues 27 rushing attempts per game.
The lack of ground game has pushed some Vikings fans to call for a free-agent acquisition of a player like Leonard Fournette or Kareem Hunt.
Still, Kristopher Knox at Bleacher Report cooked up the Henry-to-Vikings theory and also mentioned the Detroit Lions as a landing spot.
“Henry has struggled to find running room this season, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, but has racked up 213 scrimmage yards and a touchdown through two weeks. He’s still a physical runner capable of handling a large workload. Like quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Henry is also set to be a free agent in 2024,” Knox wrote.
Henry led the NFL in rushing yards in 2019 and 2020.
Knox continued, “The Minnesota Vikings should also take a long look at an every-down back like Henry. Minnesota sits at 0-2 in large part because its running game has floundered without Dalvin Cook. If the Vikings have any hope of getting back into the playoff conversation before the trade deadline, they need to find a more capable lead back than Alexander Mattison.”
The trade idea is assuredly intriguing and would kickstart Minnesota’s rushing woes, but Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is unlikely to trade draft capital for a running back who turns 30 in four months, despite Adofo-Mensah’s previous workplace connection to Titans GM Ran Carthon.
The Vikings spent all offseason getting younger on the depth chart, and onboarding Henry would totally reverse the acceleration of Adofo-Mensah’s competitive rebuild.
The Vikings host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, a desperation festival between 0-2 teams.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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