Titans lose injured Derrick Henry indefinitely, sign Adrian Peterson
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry will have surgery Tuesday morning on his right foot, and coach Mike Vrabel says the Tennessee Titans are not putting a timeline on when he will return.
Henry had tests Monday to check the severity of the injury after he finished a 34-31 overtime win in Indianapolis.
The Titans signed veteran running back Adrian Peterson on Monday, NFL.com reported.
Vrabel said he knows Henry will do everything possible to work himself back to help the Titans (6-2). Vrabel said doctors will put a timeline on Henry’s recovery and possible return, but he won’t necessarily listen to that.
“Whenever that is that’s when it’ll be,” Vrabel said. “I know that he’ll be around our team as soon as he can. I know that’s important to him. I know that’ll be important to our team. We will have to move on. We’ll have to move on unfortunately without him here in the short term and not look back.”
The Titans have nine games remaining this season and their bye Dec. 2. The defending AFC South champs hold a three-game lead and the tiebreaker inside their division.
The Rams have acquired eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker and former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller from the Broncos in a splashy move before the trade deadline.
The two-time NFL rushing champ went to the bench early in Sunday’s game. He was shown on TV with his shoe off talking with trainers with 6 minutes 3 seconds left in the first quarter before he returned. Henry finished with 28 carries for 68 yards and a 2.4-yard average that was his lowest this season. He played 54 of the 73 offensive snaps.
The 2020 AP NFL offensive player of the year did not talk to reporters after the game.
Vrabel said he thought about shutting Henry down Sunday. But he checked with the medical staff and Henry. The coach says he gives Henry a little leeway, believing the two-time Pro Bowl running back has earned the right to help make that decision.
“There was no indication that he would make anything worse,” Vrabel said.
Henry leads the NFL with 937 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. He also has a league-high 219 rushes, well ahead of the next leading rusher Joe Mixon of Cincinnati (137). Henry was one off his career high with 18 receptions for 154 yards, and he threw his first TD pass in the regular season last week against the Chiefs.
“If anybody can I guess come back, it would be Derrick,” Vrabel said, “but not going to put any expectations on any sort of timeline.”
The Titans visit the Rams (7-1) on Sunday night.
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