Derrick Henry to the Dallas Cowboys was closer to happening than many may initially think. The running back reportedly had interest in making Dallas, where he trains during the offseason, his permanent home.
There was one important thing, though, and it was all about money. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said his team could not afford the four-time Pro Bowler.
Henry finished with the Ravens and showed the Cowboys why they should have made it work Sunday, rushing for 151 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore’s 28-25 win at AT&T Stadium. Watching Henry run over his defense probably makes Jones wish it could have worked with the veteran.
After the Cowboys’ second home loss in a row, Jones explained why Henry ended up on the Baltimore sideline that season, rather than the Dallas sideline.
“We couldn’t afford Derrick Henry,” Jones said, laughing when asked “why not?” “I don’t know. Why can’t you buy a mansion when you live in a different kind of house? We couldn’t afford it. We can’t make it all fit. It’s that simple.”
Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens, after spending the first eight years of his career with the Tennessee Titans.
The Cowboys lost Tony Pollard, so they needed a strong running back. Now their depth chart includes Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott and Deuce Vaughn and their run game has struggled. Through two weeks, they were 25th in rushing and added just 51 yards on the ground in Week 3.
Jones commented on the lack of production in that area, saying it goes deeper than just having a star running back.
“I wouldn’t direct the running game and lack of that or where we’ve been the last three games to any running back at all because it takes some offensive linemen to blow them out; it takes a passing game to keep them honest in the running game. It takes a lot of things to to make that work,” Jones said. “This wouldn’t be solved just by jumping back and forth [Hall of Famer] Jimmy Brown.”
Contracts were a major plot point for the Cowboys that offseason. They expected to give wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott extensions, meaning there wasn’t much salary cap space to work with. Their lack of extra cash became a lack of a reliable runner.
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