At 30, Baltimore Ravens' running back Derrick Henry not letting age slow him down

BALTIMORE -- New Baltimore Ravens' running back Derrick Henry is ready to be the thunder to quarterback Lamar Jackson's lightning this season.

The combo could be lethal for the Ravens' potentially dangerous offense.

Henry, at age 30, has 9,502 career rushing yards with 90 touchdowns.

Henry signed a two-year contract with the Ravens in the offseason after playing the past eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

In those eight years, he carried the Titans to four playoff appearances, including a trip to the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season.

"It's a new start but I'm excited about the opportunity," Henry said. "It's a different era for me, so I'm just embracing it every day and putting the work in."

Henry may be past the peak age for an NFL running back, between 22 and 28 years old, but he's not letting it slow him down.

According to ESPN, only three NFL players have rushed for more than 1,000 yards at age 30 or older in the past decade.

"That's always going to be said when a running back gets up in age, the stigma on the position," Henry said. "But I just focus on me being healthy, doing my job when I'm here and then let my play speak for my age."

Henry has only missed significant playing time once in his career when he played eight games in 2021.

He played 16 games in 2022 and 17 in 2023.

"I feel good," Henry said. "I don't really try to worry about that. I really just think it is your mindset, how you take care of your body and keep working and do what I do."

While Henry has been on the field at the start of training camp in Owings Mills, Jackson has been out with an illness.

There's no timetable as to when the Ravens' MVP quarterback will return.

However, Henry is looking forward to getting over the hump with his backfield counterpart.

"Super Bowl, that's the goal," Henry said. "I've had chances and got close, but the main goal for me is to get to the Super Bowl."

Henry said he's looking forward to being a big piece to the offensive puzzle that includes Jackson, wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashad Bateman and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, who all played roles in leading the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game last season.

"It's everything that I've imagined, the work here, the culture, the brotherhood," Henry said. "Just watching them through the years and playing against them, just the style they play, the offense that they run, having Lamar, who is different, that played a big factor into it, and the success they had last year. It was definitely something I wanted to be a part of and be an added piece to this offense."

The Ravens open the preseason on August 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore. They play at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5 in the season-opener.