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Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

Betting against legendary Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry is a choice. Not a good choice, mind you, but one people seem determined to make over and over again.

The latest to do so was Sports Illustrated’s Jason La Canfora, who called out the Ravens for investing so much in Henry at 32 years old, which La Canfora cites as the magic age at which NFL running backs, historically, do not have anything left in the tank.

“While age 30 is the year that is generally considered when football players — especially high-touch running backs — get old and fade, in reality it’s age 32 that’s spelled the end of virtually every productive running back in the history of the sport since the 1970 merger between the NFL and AFL,” La Canfora wrote. “You can find plenty of age 30 and age 31 seasons where running backs held up and remained effective and, in many cases, were still quite brilliant. Then all but a couple that stuck around for another shot took a considerable tumble … expecting Henry to continue operating at 300-plus touches and a ridiculous 5.6/carry (his regular-season average as a Raven) seems foolish.”

Derrick Henry Seems Headed for Hall of Fame

While we can’t say what’s going to happen at age 32, Henry was pretty damn good at 31.

Henry rushed for over 1,900 yards in 2024 at 30 years old and followed that up by rushing for 1,595 yards in 2025. You can make a good argument that the Ravens wouldn’t have missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2021 — and head coach John Harbaugh could have kept his job — if Henry had simply been given more touches.

While people might not give Henry the flowers he deserves, what we’re watching is a player likely headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Through his 1st 10 seasons, Henry has 13,018 career rushing yards and moved into the No. 10 spot for NFL career rushing leaders in 2025. With just 1,100 rushing yards in 2026, he would leapfrog Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jerome Bettis, and Curtis Martin into the No. 6 spot on the list.

Henry is one of only 2 active running backs in the NFL’s Top 50 career rushing leaders, along with Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at No. 44.

Ravens Have Henry Under Contract Through 2027

Henry is under contract for 2 more years with the Ravens after signing a 2-year, $30 million contract extension in March 2025.

“Derrick Henry has been a top 10 back for the last four years and is projected to receive another big workload next season,” The Goal Line Grind wrote on its official X account on April 14. “He’s defying his age at 32 and coming off a year in which he totaled 1700+ scrimmage yards with 16 tds. Henry is as reliable as they come, especially with a new coaching regime that will feature his talent.”

Henry isn’t even thinking about retirement at this point. And why would he? The 6-foot-2, 252-pound former 2nd round pick (No. 45 overall) has been playing some of the best football over his career over the last 2 seasons.

“I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon … ” Henry told Ravens Nation Live on April 20, ” … but when my body tells me, I’m done.”