OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- After signing his two-year extension with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, running back Derrick Henry said he will show the team how much this new deal means to him by his production on the field.
Henry, though, declined to say whether this extension allows him to finish his career in Baltimore or whether he plans to play beyond this deal. The contract runs through the 2027 season, when he will be 33 years old.
"I think it's just focus on this year and then focus to continue to get better year after year that I'm here -- that's always going to be my focus," Henry said. "I love football, I love playing. I know people look at my age, but I don't really try to focus on that. I just focus on, 'How can Derrick Henry be better, how can Derrick Henry help the Ravens get to where they want to get to?'"
Henry, 31, has certainly not shown any signs of slowing down. Last season, which was his first with the Ravens, he ran for 1,921 yards, the most by a running back 30 or older in NFL history.
Then, after the Ravens' 27-25 AFC divisional playoff loss in Buffalo, Henry took only a week off before returning to his workouts. On Monday, his flight to Baltimore was delayed because of weather and he ended up signing his contract on 30 minutes sleep.
"I got home like 4:45 in the morning and I wanted to get [to the Ravens' facility] at 6 [a.m.]," Henry said. "So, I was like, 'I'm just going to stay up and just come get here and go work out.'"
Henry's two-year extension is worth $30 million, his agent told ESPN's Adam Schefter. It kept Henry from becoming a free agent at the end of this season and rewarded him with the biggest deal ever given to a running back over 30.
Henry said his intent was never to get a deal that set a new standard for older running backs.
"[It's] just both of us coming to agreement with both made sense on both sides and us both being happy with," Henry said. "I'm very happy that we were finally able to get that done."
