Derrick Henry got hislucrative long-term contract extension with the Titans before Wednesday's 4 p.m. ETdeadline and four months afterbeing franchise-tagged.Henry, who led the NFL with 1,540 yards rushing and helped lead Tenne see to the AFC championship game last season, agreed toa four-deal, per multiplereports.

While it's not surprising that the Titans, with a run-heavy offense, locked up Henry though the 2023 season, it may be shocking to Mookie Wilson Jersey some that Henry "settled" for being the league's fifth highest-paid feature back in terms of average annual salary.

, Henry's new four-year contract is worth $50 million, with more than half, $25.5 million over e sentially the first two seasons guaranteed. That comes out to $12.5 million per season.'

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Christian McCaffrey, who made first-team All-Pro at two positions for his 2019 season, remains the highest-paid running back in the game overall. McCaffreyearlier this yearsigned a four-year extension with the Panthers worth $64 million, withmore than $38 million guaranteed. Last fall, the Cowboys gave Ezekiel Elliott a six-year, $90 million deal with $50 million guaranteed.

That puts Jose Reyes Jersey McCaffrey at $16 million per seasonand Elliott at $15 million per season,both well ahead of Henry. The surprise, however, comes from the fact the Texans' David Johnson ($13 million per season) and the Jets' Le'Veon Bell ($13.125 million) also average more money than Henry, per the deals they signed in 2018 and early 2019, respectively.Johnson ($24.682 million) got le s guaranteed money than Henry, but Bell ($27 million), like McCaffrey and Elliott,got more.

Before the start of free agency this year, the Titans took care of their new starting QB, Ryan Tannehill, witha four-year, $118 million deal with $62 million guaranteed and a $29.5 million average annual value.Given that Tannehill was an elite downfield play-action pa ser who thrivedoff the power running game last season, it was a no-brainer that Henry would be signed for about the same duration.

While keeping Tannehill and Henry together as a tandem, the Titansalso gota very good deal onthe lifeblood of their offense, for a couple reasons: Henry's age and his usage.

Henry will turn 27 in December, which is on the older side for a fifth-year back. It has been well-documented that workhorses of his ilk tend to wear down around age 30. He will be 29 when the 2023 NFL regular season ends.

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Elliott and McCaffrey are24. They also started at higher salary pointsas high first-round draft picks, Devin Mesoraco Jersey with Elliott going No. 4 overall in 2016and McCaffrey going No. 8 overall in 2017. Henry went No. 45 overall, in the second round, in Elliott's Cla s of 2016.

Henry Jed Lowrie Jersey has one Pro Bowl season to his credit over four years, his breakout 2019 campaign. McCaffrey is coming off two dominant years, including leading the NFL with 2,392 yards from scrimmage last season. Elliott has been a rushing machine since earning first-team All-Pro status as a rookie.

As for Johnson and Bell, those aresimplybad player-friendly deals. The Cardinals admitted they overpaid for Johnson when they movedhis contract in the DeAndre Hopkins trade. The Jets, ever since Adam Gase won hispower struggle with formerGM Mike Maccagnan, have seemed to regret Maccagnangiving Bell a big free-agent contractlast offseason. Johnson and Bell both are about two years older than Henry, too.

Now, let'slook at Henry's production. He needed a league-high 303 carries last season to gainthose 1,540 yards, whilealso leading the NFL with 16 rushing touchdownsand 102.7 yards rushing per game. But with only 18 receptions for 206 yards, his 2019 scrimmage total was limited to1,746 yards.

McCaffrey had way more.Elliott, after posting 2,001 scrimmage yards in 2018, also edged Henry last year with 1,777.

Johnson got paid mainly because he led the league with 373 touches for 2,118 scrimmage yards and 20 TDs in 2016, and despite mi sing most of the 2017 season. Bell was coming off twoma sive scrimmage seasons with the Steelers (1,884 and 1,946 yards)andfully rested during the 2018 season before the Jets signed him.

Bell didn't have Keon Broxton Jersey a great first season with the Jets because of a big dropoffin carries and bad run blocking, but he still managed 66 catches for 461 yards. Consider thatin four seasons with the Titans, Henry has just 57 total catches for 578 yards.

Henry is a special home-run hitting power back, but he won't be given an expanded role as a receiver and is bound to see a fewer early-down touches. Dion Lewis is gone, but rookie Darrynton Evans is a fresher, more explosive change-of-pace typewho'll also bring great pop tothe pa sing game. He's apotential replacement for Henry should Henrynot play up to hisdeal over the next couple seasons.

The Titans needed to take care of Henry in order to keep their running game strong and maintain Tannehill's efficiency, butthey were smart not to overpay him after being too aggre sive with Tannehill. That comes down to the quarterback market being inflated and the running back market being capped, especially for backs who aren't big-time elements in the pa sing game.

Henrywould have earned$10.2 million under the tag; nowhe's getting Brandon Nimmo Jersey significantly more thanthat per season, as well asmore than double that amount in guaranteed money. For the Titans, who needed to pay a veteran back, that'sa reasonable price, onethat reflects Henry's past and future value to them.