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Jerry Jones defends not signing Derrick Henry, claims running back doesn’t fit in Dallas Cowboys offense

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Baltimore Ravens, Derrick Henry
Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry is having one of the best seasons in his nine-year career.

After the Tennessee Titans let him walk and the Ravens signed him to a two-year, $16 million deal, Henry has dominated the first eight weeks of the season. All he’s done is lead the league in rushing attempts (134), rushing yards (873), rushing touchdowns (8), average rushing yards per carry (6.5), average rushing yards per game (124.7), total yards from scrimmage (935), and most rushing and receiving touchdowns combined (10).

Related: 3 reasons to fear the Baltimore Ravens as Super Bowl contenders

In the Ravens’ Monday night 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Henry had 15 carries for 169 yards and one catch for a touchdown.

Many teams had the opportunity to sign Henry on the cheap side during the offseason, including the Dallas Cowboys, who are last in the league in rushing yards (463), yards per carry (3.5), and rushing touchdowns (2).

During the Monday Night Football Game broadcast, announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman took a not-so-subtle shot at Dallas for not reeling Henry in.

“There’s gotta be a lot of teams out there that had opportunities to bring in Derrick Henry that are kind of kicking themselves for not doing it,” Aikman said. “But he has been an absolute perfect fit for this Ravens attack.”

Joe Buck responded, “Can you think of any teams off hand? I’ll just throw this out there, the offseason home for Derrick Henry is in Dallas, Texas.”

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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sounds off why they didn’t sign Derrick Henry

Derrick Henry, Dallas Cowboys
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As the Cowboys have struggled to a 3-3 record, fans and critics are questioning why owner Jerry Jones didn’t do more in the offseason to improve the team, including signing Henry.

Appearing on 105.3 The Fan a week after threatening the radio hosts’ jobs, Jones said that Henry wouldn’t be having the same success with the Cowboys, which is what Dallas fans want to hear.

“Weā€™ve, in my mind, weā€™re not playing very good football right now, at all. Itā€™s beyond whether or not we have Derrick Henry or not,” Jones explained. “Derrick Henry is having a career year. I donā€™t know if he would be having that career year in our situation. And thatā€™s really something you really do have to look at, because if he had not had as many carries as our running backs have had, then he certainly probably wouldnā€™t have attained the level of impact heā€™s having.

“Heā€™s a real good complement to the type of offense they run. We donā€™t run that type of offense at all. Our situation is more about, frankly, it’s more about holding your blocks, itā€™s more about not making mistakes, itā€™s more about, in my mind, the receivers running through a tough man-to-man coverage and running on through it, and, if you will, get away from that.

Jones stated that, in the end, it came down to Henry not fitting within the salary cap, despite just signing a $16 million contract.

“Derrick Henry didnā€™t fit because principally of managing the cap. Of managing the cap in anticipation of the players that we were going to sign weeks later, or anticipation of the players we were going to be signing in the future,” Jones added.

Instead of bringing in Henry, the Cowboys brought back Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year, $3 million deal. He has 115 rushing yards on the season and one touchdown.

The Cowboys are 4.5-point road underdogs to the 3-4 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Related: NFL analysts urge Dallas Cowboys to become trade deadline sellers after 3-3 start

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