The Titans didn't have a shot at the postseason heading into their Week 18 matchup against the Jaguars, but they were able to end things on a high note with a 28-20 victory at home, spoiling Jacksonville's playoff chances and finishing the season 6-11.
Among the players who stood out the most was veteran running back Derrick Henry, who might have just played his final snap in Tennessee and will go down as one of the best rushers in NFL history.
Here's a look into Henry's swan-song performance as many wonder where he'll play next year and if rookie Tyjae Spears can lead the TItans' backfield in 2024.
Derrick Henry stats today vs. Jaguars
Henry finished out Sunday's win over the Jaguars with 153 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. It was just the fourth time this season he's eclipsed the century mark. This performance comes on the heels of a dismal 26-3 loss to the Texans in which Henry logged 12 carries for 42 yards as the team's leading rusher.
Just two games before that, the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder had one of the worst performances of his career, also against the Texans, recording 16 carries for just nine yards.
Sunday marked the best statistical performance of the season for Henry, and all signs point to it being his last in Nashville. Based on what he said on the field after the game on Sunday, it's hard to envision a scenario in which he returns for another year with the Titans.
What did Derrick Henry say after the game in Week 18?
"Thank you for the greatest eight years of my life," Henry said following the game. "I hope I was an inspiration to all of the young kids."
"Thank you for the greatest 8 years of my life"
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 7, 2024
-Derrick Henry thanks @Titans fans after his last potential game as a Titan 👑pic.twitter.com/aSuERdlSFj
Derrick Henry’s still here signing autographs and taking pictures with Titans fans pic.twitter.com/2MhJbvVjol
— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) January 7, 2024
Derrick Henry career stats
Selected 45th overall by the Titans in the 2016 draft, Henry has carried Tennessee to plenty of big wins while redefining "workhorse" for the modern era.
Here's a look at how Henry has performed on the stat sheet over the years.
| Year | Team | Games | Carries | Yards | Touchdowns |
| 2016 | Titans | 15 | 110 | 490 | 5 |
| 2017 | Titans | 16 | 176 | 744 | 5 |
| 2018 | Titans | 16 | 215 | 1,059 | 12 |
| 2019 | Titans | 15 | 303 | 1,540 | 16 |
| 2020 | Titans | 16 | 378 | 2,027 | 17 |
| 2021 | Titans | 8 | 219 | 937 | 10 |
| 2022 | Titans | 16 | 349 | 1,538 | 13 |
| 2023 | Titans | 17 | 280 | 1,167 | 12 |
| Career Total | 119 | 2,030 | 9,502 | 90 |
Derrick Henry contract
Henry just finished out the last year of a four-year contract extension worth $50 million that he signed in 2020.
He carries a roughly $16.4 million cap hit this season and will count against the Titans' salary cap for the next two years because of the void years that exist on his contract.
Here's a look at the complete structure of Henry's contract, which is set to expire after the 2023 NFL season.
| Year | Base salary | Bonuses | Cap hit | Dead cap |
| 2020 | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $25,500,000 |
| 2021 | $10,500,000 | $3,000,000 | $13,500,000 | $19,500,000 |
| 2022 | $4,000,000 | $5,367,647 | $9,367,647 | $14,250,000 |
| 2023 | $10,500,000 | $5,867,647 | $16,367,647 | $20,602,941 |
| 2024* | — | $2,367,647 | $4,735,294 | $4,735,294 |
| 2025* | — | $2,367,647 | $2,367,647 | $2,367,647 |
* Henry is not under contract in 2024 or 2025. The Titans simply attached two void years to Henry's deal to differ some of the accounting for guaranteed money paid to him in future seasons. With this, Henry will count against the cap even while not with the Titans in 2024 and 2025.
