Derrick Henry believes joining Dallas Cowboys in free agency would have been a ‘perfect situation’

Derrick Henry reiterated that he would have had interest in joining the Dallas Cowboys.

We are squarely in the month of April and to date the Dallas Cowboys have only a single external free agent signing. His name is Eric Kendricks and he plays linebacker in case you forgot.

How the Cowboys have approached this time of year remains under scrutiny, but what’s done is done. I do not say that in any sort of give-up way but in a matter-of-fact one as different free agents have already found non-Dallas homes.

Interestingly enough one player who calls Dallas his literal home has now said several times that the Cowboys never made a point to call him about making it his football residence as well.

You know the name and are likely frustrated at the situation.

Derrick Henry believes joining Dallas Cowboys in free agency would have been a ‘perfect situation’

It has been almost a month since Derrick Henry joined the Baltimore Ravens and when he did NFL fans immediately began to wonder what a rushing attack with him and Lamar Jackson would look like. We will find out in an up-close way as Dallas hosts Baltimore this season.

In the immediate aftermath of joining the Ravens, Henry was asked specifically about whether or not the Cowboys called him. He noted that they did not. After that story took off it was reported that Dallas did not call him because they did not want to insult him by low-balling him. Seriously.

The Cowboys have yet to seriously address the running back position although they have brought back Rico Dowdle this offseason. Together with Deuce Vaughn he comprises a group that many expect to be joined by a draft pick and potentially Ezekiel Elliott or Dalvin Cook (who are both coming off of career low seasons), so it is difficult to deny that Dallas could/should have looked more seriously into the idea of Henry.

Henry was a recent guest on The Pivot and was asked yet again about his interactions (really the lack of them) with the Cowboys throughout free agency. He detailed how he would have been interested, but obviously could not be without a call or offer from them.

“Even though I’m living in Dallas and Dallas being a perfect situation, as well, because we lived there, we ain’t got to move. But at the same time, Ravens, the history of it, and then talking to Ray (Lewis) at the Pro Bowl, his passion about the organization, his impact there and how he talked about it. I was like, man, if I’m not in Tennessee or I don’t get to go to Dallas, I’d love to be a Raven.”

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“They ain’t holla at me at all,” Henry answered when asked if the Cowboys were in the mix.

For Henry, it would’ve been a surreal situation to play with a star on his helmet. Ideal a location as it might well have been, Henry indicated nothing was ever in the works.

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“It would’ve been crazy,” he said. “I thought it’d been some type of reach out, some type of talks or whatever. They never reached out, you know what I’m saying? I don’t really know too much about their organization. All I know is what I hear. I was talking to my agent. They weren’t really interested. It is what it is. Like I said earlier, I’m gonna be where I’m gonna be, and I feel like Baltimore was the perfect spot.”

Whether or not the Cowboys truly did not call Henry as a sort of respect to him, not seriously considering him seems to be a mistake. Especially if he viewed the situation to be a perfect one.

The last few years have seen a general movement pass that running backs don’t matter and while there is legitimate truth to the idea that spending premium assets on one is risky, they certainly provide value.

What’s more is that the Cowboys are still in a hole at the position and now painted into a corner with needing to draft one a few weeks from now in a year where there is not a ton of running back depth in the draft class. Free agency saw plenty of teams get ahead of the curve by bringing in running backs in anticipation of this, but the Cowboys seem to feel confident in their approach whether we agree with it or not.

As noted there has been a lot of thought and input for how the Cowboys are approaching free agency and in talking about his new team Henry may have implied how he felt about ours:

“I’m happy I’m going somewhere that they’re hungry,” he said. “They’re hungry for it and they’re right on the cusp. They’re always in the conversation. I know Lamar wants one really bad, so I ain’t going to somewhere where the expectation is like, ‘We’re going to see what’s going to happen. Let’s make the playoffs and make some noise.’ No. They’re trying to win it. Being so close and losing that game to Kansas City, I know they’re hungry. I know they’re gonna come in with the right mindset, and let’s get to it. I’m ready to come in and be that added piece to it to help spring them forward any way possible. Any way I can.”

It is fair for Henry to believe that the Ravens are hungry and going for it given that they pursued him the way that they did. He doesn’t directly say that the Cowboys are not hungry or not going for it (a lot of us are saying that), but if they didn’t even call him it is hard to argue against that idea.