It might not be on the level of Tom Brady returning to New England to face off against Bill Belichick, but this week will see another reunion between two successful former collaborators. Mike Vrabel and Derrick
Henry, who spent six seasons together in Tennessee, will square off on Sunday night when the Patriots take on the Baltimore Ravens.
The game will mark the first time that Vrabel and Henry go at each other since their departures from the Titans following the 2023 season. For New England’s first-year head coach, the challenge will be significant.
“He’s a very unique player,” Vrabel said. “Great speed, great power, strength. He’s just a different body type than what anybody would go against, and so it’s unique in that regard. They do a very nice job with their scheme, different personnel groups, different run plan and styles of run, and different run actions. We know what he’s about — build speed and stiff arm and all that other stuff.”
A second-round draft pick in 2016, Henry joined forces with Vrabel two years later. In their six seasons together, he averaged almost 1,600 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns while also leading the NFL in rushing yards twice and being named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2020.
With Henry as the motor powering his offense, Vrabel led Tennessee to three playoff berths and a pair of AFC South titles. The accomplishments they shared, however, are only one part of their common history.
“He was very valuable to our success in Tennessee,” Vrabel explained. “Me personally, I had a great relationship with Derrick. He was always there. It seemed like when we needed to play, he made it. He’s a great teammate. Anytime that there was a message, he delivered that message in his own particular way. He was somebody that I really valued in the six years that I was there with him.”
In 2024, the Titans opted for a rebuild. They fired Vrabel after having missed the playoffs in back-to-back years and saw Henry take his talents to Baltimore as a free agent.
He has not slowed down since and continues to produce at a high level even in his 30s. Henry notched 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in his first year in the purple and black, and this season is already up to 1,125 yards and 10 scores.
The Patriots know that slowing him down will be a key to victory on Sunday. However, that is easier said than done for a run defense that has had its fair share of problems lately.
“It is a huge challenge,” said Mike Vrabel.
He ought to know.
