NFL rumors are running wild when it comes to the potential Derrick Henry draft-day trade.
In one of the first big conundrums of unverified Twitter, ex-NFL player Akbar Gbajabiamila reported that fellow CAA client Derrick Henry would be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Henry is a fantastic player, but I would be lying to you if we weren’t all caught a bit off-guard by the news that Tennessee Titans‘ bell-cow back could be on the move by Thursday night. Although he is a future Pro Football Hall of Famer and a college football legend from his days at Alabama, Henry isn’t a kid anymore. He is pushing 30, and who knows how much tread is left on his tires?
Given the sensitive nature of all this, NFL insider Benjamin Allbright doesn’t think Gbajabiamila would be lying about something this significant. It is too big of a juicy nugget to be making it up…
As for Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, he doesn’t really buy the notion that Henry will be traded to the Eagles. This has everything to do with his intel suggesting the Eagles and Titans have yet to engage in trade talks. Interestingly, these teams made a blockbuster draft-day trade a year ago, sending Tennessee wide receiver A.J. Brown to Philadelphia (of course, Brown let it be known that he would love this rumor to be true). Mike Vrabel was absolutely furious.
For those who were too busy being humans and actually went outside on Saturday, here is Gbajabiamila’s tweet that sent the new wild west of unverified Twitter into a flipping frenzy, dawg!
Fate would have it, Brown saw the tweet and would totally welcome Henry to the City of Brotherly Love as his teammate once again.
I think the biggest question in all this is who do you believe? What do you want to believe? Let’s go!
NFL rumors: What to make of the Derrick Henry trade talks?
Truth be told, I am not shocked that Henry’s name has come up in trade rumors. The Titans are on the downward trajectory of their competitive life cycle, so it does make sense for new general manager Ran Carthon to rebuild this team to his liking. And it is not even a potential draft-day deal. For me, it is all about Gbajabiamila breaking the news and the trade partner being the Eagles.
From a roster construction and competitive life cycle standpoint, I could understand the Eagles’ perceived interest in trading for Henry. The Birds just won the NFC a year ago. They let Miles Sanders walk to the Carolina Panthers in his free agency, so they have remained in the mix to upgrade the running back position. However, they could potentially draft Bijan Robinson at No. 10.
The next Saquon Barkley could replace the guy who replaced him at Penn State in Sanders. Of course, the Atlanta Falcons are currently the betting favorite to take the former Texas star at No. 8. Plus, if the Titans were to trade Henry, they would too be in the market to draft Robinson. Then again, why would they leave themselves exposed to the fact the Falcons may take him first?
In truth, I don’t really know what to believe. I can be convinced on either side of the argument with the validity of Gbajabiamila’s reporting. Again, why would a CAA client make something up like this? Conversely, while I understand why the Eagles could be interested in a dynamic playmaker like Henry, Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman is very risk averse with running backs.
And I think that might be the sticking point for me in all this. This is the same general manager who traded LeSean McCoy in his prime to the Buffalo Bills for Chip Kelly favorite Kiko Alonso. Things would have been much easier had Roseman and the Philadelphia brass extended Sanders in the first place. Plus, the Robinson interest might actually be a smokescreen for … Jalen Carter.
There is no way on god’s green earth that the disruptive Georgia defensive lineman makes it past Philadelphia at No. 10. His character concerns might be off-putting to some franchises, but I think Philadelphia would rather add its next Fletcher Cox and put him in the same defensive front-seven as fellow college football legend teammates Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, but that is just me…
In all honesty, there may be discussions behind closed doors about a potential Henry trade with the Eagles, but I’m not sure anything will manifest from it. He would kick so much tail there, but Tennessee would be rolling the dice in hoping Atlanta passes on Robinson at No. 8, even if they have the Eagles’ pick by way of the New Orleans Saints, as well as their own pick at No. 11 overall.
A blockbuster trade sending Henry to the Eagles will be utterly fascinating, but I am a bit skeptical.