Titans coach Mike Vrabel updates Derrick Henry's status

After ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported early Monday morning that Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry had suffered a potentially season-ending foot injury in Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel shared Henry’s official status with reporters later in the day.

Although Vrabel didn’t say that Henry would be out for the remainder of the season, the coach did announce that his star running back will have surgery Tuesday morning, meaning that he’ll certainly miss some time.

“I know that Derrick is going to work extremely hard to get back and help this football team,” Vrabel said.

Henry’s foot was checked out by Titans trainers during the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Colts, but he returned from the sideline and finished with 28 carries for 68 yards

“Internally, in my mind, I check with the medical staff, I check with the player, and in this case, I check with Derrick,” Vrabel said when discussing the decision to keep Henry in the game. “I’m going to give him a little leeway. I think he’s earned the right to help me make that decision like we always do on his rest and recovery and certain situations we’ve had over our time together. We felt like that at that time, listening to Derrick and the medical staff that he would be OK being out there. So, that’s kind of where I was.”

Could Henry return this season?

Derrick Henry has had a remarkable 2021 season up to this point as he’s tallied 219 carries for an NFL-leading 937 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s also made 18 receptions for 154 yards.

Although Tennessee is 6-2 on the year, Henry’s injury may end the Titans’ chances of making a Super Bowl run – but it all depends on whether or not he can return at some point.

“There is a belief that Henry will be back this season,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said. “The timeline, and it’s tough to know because every individual’s surgery is different and every injury is different, but the timeline is about 6-10 weeks. Eight-10 is probably the average, but if they really push it, six is possible.