ARLINGTON, Texas — When Derrick Henry was a free agent last March, many thought he would have been a perfect fit for the Dallas Cowboys , especially since he spends his offseason in the area.
The Cowboys had a running back need after losing Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans , but there was never a real consideration of adding the hulking running back, so he joined the Baltimore Ravens .
On Sunday, Henry ran for 151 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns in the Ravens’ 28-25 win against the Cowboys, but Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones had no regrets.
“Hats off to him. He had a great day today. Have all the respect in the world for him,” Jones said. “And so that’s what happens when you don’t sign good ones: They can come back and have a great game against you. But bottom line is we couldn’t afford Derrick Henry.”
Henry signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens that included $9 million in guaranteed money. He has a $5.1 million salary cap figure, but the Cowboys could have structured a contract in a manner that would have made that figure lower and still been able to sign Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to the lucrative extensions they received recently.