With lucrative extension, Ravens RB Derrick Henry has golden shot at individual and team glory

The Ravens have agreed to terms with Derrick Henry on a two-year, $30 million contract extension through 2027, the team announced Wednesday, rewarding their All-Pro running back after a historic debut season in Baltimore.

Henry, 31, was entering the final year of the two-year, $16 million contract he signed last offseason, but Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta hinted at the NFL scouting combine that the team would make an extension a priority.

Henry started all 17 games for the Ravens last season, rushing for 1,921 yards (second most in the NFL), an NFL-high 16 touchdowns and a career-high 5.9 yards per carry. He also had 19 catches for 193 yards and two scores.

“Derrick is just a phenomenal worker,” DeCosta said in February. “He’s a pro. He does everything the right way, the way that he practices, the way that he takes care of his body, his mentality on the field, his leadership, his talent — he’s freakishly talented — his combination of size and speed. He was just a perfect player for us last year, the right addition, and he brought a lot to the table on the field and also off the field with intangible qualities. We’re blessed to have him, and I would expect his successes last year to continue this year.”

Henry’s new deal is worth $15 million annually and reportedly includes $25 million guaranteed over 2025 and 2026, with a nonguaranteed $12 million salary in 2027. Only two running backs have contracts with a higher average annual value than $15 million: the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley ($20.6 million) and the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ($19 million).

In his first year next to quarterback Lamar Jackson, Henry was a seamless fit on the NFL’s best offense. He rushed for more than 100 yards in nine of 17 games and rushed for a touchdown in all but five. His 18 total touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns set single-season Ravens records, and he became the fourth player since 1970 to score in each of his first 11 games.

Henry’s 2025 production turned back the clock to his marauding years with the Tennessee Titans, defying NFL norms for running backs age 30 and older. He led the NFL with 89 missed tackles forced on carries, according to Pro Football Focus. He finished seventh in yards after contact per carry (3.5) among qualifying runners, according to TruMedia. He had five carries on which he reached at least 20 mph, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. (Only Barkley, the NFL’s leading rusher, had more.) And Henry finished the year with an NFL-best 562 rushing yards over expected, according to NGS, an indication that he made the most of the Ravens’ inconsistent run blocking.

“You get the same from Derrick every single day,” running backs coach Willie Taggart said in December. “He wakes up and wants to be great at what he does. Like I told you guys earlier in the year, he hates making mistakes. I don’t care what mistake it is; he hates it. It can be the smallest thing, and he just hates it so much. I got a text last night. It just said, ‘Coach, I’m still ticked about this game.’ A lot of those things where it doesn’t go right for him, it bothers him. It also motivates him to come back to work the next day and try to do everything he can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“For me, you love that out of him, being a veteran with so much experience and so much success, and still wakes up every day in this [point in his] career and still wants to be the best. He’s setting an example for the younger guys in the room as well, and that’s been very beneficial for us.”

Henry said in February that he wanted to retire a Raven, and his new deal offers him golden opportunities at individual and team glory before he steps aside. Henry will enter the 2025 season with 11,423 career rushing yards, 19th in NFL history. With a 1,000-yard season, he’d rise to 11th all time. With a 2,000-yard season, he’d climb to ninth. Among the 42 running backs with at least 2,000 career carries, Henry trails only Jim Brown (5.2 yards per carry) and Barry Sanders (5.0) in career rushing average.

The Ravens are counting on Henry, one of the NFL’s hardest workers and rarest athletic specimens, to keep charging ahead well into his 30s. Only three running backs since 2010 have rushed for even 1,000 yards in their age-31 season or older: Frank Gore (twice), Adrian Peterson and Raheem Mostert. But, with another year in offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system and improved play along the offensive line, Henry could help power the Ravens’ push for a third Lombardi Trophy.

“Thank you Flock Nation for always supporting,” Henry wrote Wednesday on X. “Working as hard I can to be able to contribute to us holding up that trophy when it’s all said & done.”