Derrick Henry never experienced concussion symptoms and was ready to return to the field last Sunday when Titans medical staff held him out in the second half of a loss to the Colts.
Henry plans to barrel straight ahead Monday night when Tennessee visits the Miami Dolphins.
“I guess (trainers and doctors) saw something that they felt like I couldn’t return,” Henry said of his perspective on the head injury analysis by the team last week. “I felt fine. Just took a helmet-to-helmet hit and they saw enough where I couldn’t go back in. I wanted to go back in — it was hard to watch — but I have to respect their decision.
“I can’t fight it — it’s their decision, it’s their call. It sucks, but you have to respect it. I wanted to go out there and continue to play and help us win, but they felt different. … I think the league is trying to be cautious with head injuries, which I respect. It’s all about player safety.”
Henry had 102 rushing yards and two touchdowns when he landed facemask first following a hard hit in the fourth quarter from Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. Trainers wanted to evaluate Henry for a concussion and ushered him to the locker room under Nissan Stadium before ruling him out for the rest of the game.
Head coach Mike Vrabel said he understood the approach and even went on the field himself in reaction to the force of the contact and the way Henry went to the ground. But Vrabel clarified on Monday that Henry was never entered into concussion protocol because he was not diagnosed with a concussion.
Henry said Thursday he still has no symptoms of a head injury.
“I feel good,” Henry said. “I just got hit in the head, got my bell rung a little bit. You just get back up and shake it off.”
He has 841 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games this season.
–Field Level Media