NASHVILLE – The King is back.
Officially, back.
The Titans on Friday activated running back Derrick Henry from Injured Reserve, setting the stage for him to return to action in the team's Divisional Round playoff game against the Bengals on Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
On January 5, the Titans moved Henry to the team's "Designated for Return from Injured Reserve" list, clearing his return to practice.
He's been practicing ever since, on Tuesday for the first time in pads. On Wednesday, Henry said the contact felt "great."
Henry has missed the last nine games with a foot injury.
Henry talked to reporters this week for the first time since suffering the foot injury that's sidelined him since the team's October 31 game against the Colts, which put him on Injured Reserve.
"I'm happy to be back," Henry said. "You definitely appreciate this game a lot more when you are away from it, being away from teammates and just having that camaraderie and going to work every day and playing on Sundays each and every week. I definitely missed that.
"I'm just happy to be back and I'm appreciative of everybody that helped me get to be able to be back and contribute during the playoffs. I am just happy to be back playing football."
In eight games in 2021, Henry has totaled 937 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on 219 attempts, along with 18 receptions for 154 yards to give him a total of 1,091 scrimmage yards.
In 2020, Henry was named the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year after rushing 378 times for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns. Henry became just the eighth player in NFL history to hit the 2,000-yard mark in 2020, and he was honored with his second consecutive Pro Bowl, named first-team Associated Press All-Pro, and won the FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive year.
Also on Friday, the Titans announced defensive back Chris Jones will be a gameday elevation for Saturday's game. He'll recert back to the practice squad after the game. Earlier in the week, the Titans placed defensive back Greg Mabin on the team's Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Kickoff for Saturday's game against the Bengals is set for 3:30 CT at Nissan Stadium.
