Activate Derrick Henry this week? That may be a tough call for Tennessee Titans | Estes

Some rather large Tennessee Titans news that has been discussed for weeks was finally acknowledged by Mike Vrabel on Monday:

Yes, Derrick Henry is close to returning.

How close? Enough to where the Titans are considering opening Henry’s window to return to practice this week, giving him three weeks to return from injured reserve for games. Vrabel said the Titans would “probably make that decision midweek.”

Vrabel also said Henry is “doing some work (Monday)” to help reach that decision. I’m assuming a bit now, but if the Titans star is already “working” and doing things a running back does, like running and cutting, on his repaired foot, that probably means he can practice. And if he can practice, he can probably play.

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And that all sounds spectacular for the Titans and ghastly for the rest of the AFC. When the Titans' playoff run starts, there’s still no reason to think Henry won’t be front-and-center.

But what about this week?

If the question is whether to activate Henry for this week’s regular-season finale against the Houston Texans, that's looking like a much tougher call.

On one hand, you’d like Henry to get some work in before the playoffs. And it's not like this is an exhibition. There seems a popular assumption that the Titans have already won the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but they haven’t. They still need to beat the Texans. You’re obviously better equipped to do that with a running back who has run for – checks notes – 461 YARDS over his last two season-finale games in Houston.

On the other hand, we might want to listen to what Vrabel said Sunday when asked about Henry after the victory over the Miami Dolphins:

“I think that the plan is always going to be, ‘Where is he at?’” Vrabel said. “… Can they do their job effectively? Can they make it worse? Can they protect themselves out there? It's a violent game. We don't want to put guys out there that can't go out there and protect themselves or they can make it worse.”

Vrabel may not always answer questions from the media, but he usually doesn’t waste time or words when he does. If Vrabel is bringing cautious concerns up when asked about Henry, there's a reason. Those concerns are likely relevant to this situation.

The point being, if Henry is ready to go, then what's to decide this week?

But if there’s genuine risk in playing Henry in Houston, then the Titans would be wise to save him for the playoffs. They’ll just need to hope his teammates can earn him that extra bye week to recover.

Titans-Dolphins takeaways

1. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill stayed out of the headlines this past week by remaining reserved about facing his former team. He barely talked about it. He didn’t even say anything to teammates. Receiver A.J. Brown, however, noted that the façade finally faded late in Sunday’s game, and Tannehill’s comments in the huddle suggested that “He wanted to go and put it on them.”

“Obviously, this was important for me,” said Tannehill afterward … causing reporters’ ears to perk up just before the stoicism returned as he finished the sentence … “being where we’re at in the season and having the opportunity to win the division.”

Of course.

After this answer, Tannehill smiled broadly at the podium, which I took to say much more than any of his comments about the Dolphins did.

2. The Titans’ ears were burning Monday morning. The national media is starting to hop back aboard their bandwagon with the AFC’s No. 1 seed within reach.

"This team right here is dangerous, because they play a style that is always in style in the NFL,” said receiving great Cris Carter of the Titans on “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network. “... If you run the ball and smack a guy in the mouth, it will win you football games in the league."

3. Talk about the Titans is sounding pretty good, but people aren’t yet putting their money there. As of Monday morning, futures odds at Tipico Sportsbook still had five teams – two of them in the AFC -- favored ahead of the Titans to win the Super Bowl: The Green Bay Packers (+350), Kansas City Chiefs (+500), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+750), Buffalo Bills (+750) and Los Angeles Rams (+900). The Titans (+1200) had the same odds as the Dallas Cowboys.

4. Sunday’s game was a mismatch in all three phases, as evidenced by the fact the Titans started four offensive possessions on the Dolphins’ side of 50, and the Dolphins didn’t start any of its 11 possessions past their own 33-yard line. The Titans’ average starting point for drives was 23 yards better.

5. The Titans’ defense was dominant, not allowing the Dolphins to reach the red zone. Tua Tagovailoa – who I’m betting hasn’t played in the sleet too often in Hawaii, Alabama or South Florida – never looked comfortable in the conditions and against the Titans’ pass rush. He fumbled three times, was sacked four times and completed only 18 of 38 passes. Miami’s top receivers DeVante Parker (four catches) and Jaylen Waddle (three) were targeted a total of 20 times between them for only seven receptions.

“We knew Tua liked to step up in the pocket, and that was the whole thing,” said the Titans’ Jeffery Simmons. “Affect him. If they were going to beat us, make sure they beat us other than going to 17 (Waddle). … And the back end did great, because to be honest, most of the sacks that happened today were coverage sacks.”

6. Offensively, the most worrisome aspect of this matchup figured to be the Dolphins’ pass rush. Prior to Sunday, they led the league in sacks, while the Titans have consistently struggled to protect Tannehill this season. The Dolphins, however, only sacked him one time.

That probably had a little bit to do with the Titans’ offensive line being healthier throughout the game, but it had a lot to do with the Titans’ ability to grab an early lead and keep running the ball successfully. Tannehill only threw 18 passes, his fewest in any game since the playoff victory over the Baltimore Ravens late in the 2019 season.

7. It’s hardly a revelation to say turnovers decide games, but the gap in the margin between Titans wins and losses is cavernous. In 11 wins, the Titans lost nine turnovers and gained 20 for a plus-11 margin. In five losses, the Titans have a whopping 16 turnovers and gained two for a minus-14 margin.

8. The Titans are getting healthier defensively, and that is manifesting itself in more substitutions and deeper rotations with quality players. At middle linebacker, for example, Zach Cunningham (65% of snaps), David Long (55%) and Rashaan Evans (39%) all played a significant number of snaps based on situations. Among outside linebackers, Bud Dupree (60%) has continued to play more of an every-down role than earlier in the season. Up front, Denico Autry (52%) was effective despite playing only about half the time defensively.

9. With Julio Jones sidelined again Sunday, Dez Fitzpatrick was active and played 10 offensive snaps (16%), his first game action since the loss to the Patriots in late November. Fellow rookie Racey McMath played 12 snaps (19%), behind Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (70%), A.J. Brown (63%) and Chester Rogers (32%).

10. Vrabel said Monday he didn’t think Rogers committed an illegal blindside block after being flagged for one on a long catch and run by Dontrell Hilliard in the third quarter “I thought that was a good hustle play.” Fans at Nissan Stadium were especially riled up by Rogers’ penalty and booed for minutes afterward.

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans activating Derrick Henry from injury is a tough call