“Missed Opportunity: Cowboys Feel the Impact of Passing on Derrick Henry in Loss to Ravens”
The Dallas Cowboys and their owner, Jerry Jones, experienced a painful reminder of “what could have been” during their tough Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. One of the key takeaways from the 28-25 defeat was the Cowboys’ urgent need for help at running back, and the player many hoped Jones would target in the 2024 free agency: Derrick Henry.
Henry, one of the top running backs available last offseason, signed with the Ravens, and on Sunday, the Cowboys got a firsthand look at what they missed. He ran for 151 yards and scored two touchdowns on 25 carries, including a 26-yard dash that extended Baltimore’s lead to 28-6 in the third quarter. After the game, Jones addressed the decision not to sign Henry, as reported by Jon Machota of The Athletic.
“I don’t know, why can’t you buy a mansion when you live in a different kind of house?” Jones remarked. “We couldn’t afford it. We couldn’t make that fit. It’s as simple as that.”
While Jones and the Cowboys were managing multiple contract extensions—such as those for CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott—Henry’s contract with Baltimore wasn’t exorbitant. The former Tennessee Titan signed a two-year, $16 million deal, placing him ninth in annual salary among NFL running backs.
Meanwhile, Henry’s standout performance against Dallas was made worse by the Cowboys’ own struggling run game. Rico Dowdle led with eight carries for 32 yards, while Elliott managed just six yards on three carries. This mirrored the previous week’s struggles in their loss to the New Orleans Saints, where Dowdle ran for 30 yards on seven carries and Elliott only gained 16 yards on six attempts.
While signing Henry would have required some creative salary cap management, his impact with the Ravens suggests that the move might have been worth the effort.