When the Los Angeles Rams drafted running back Darrell Henderson in the third round out of Memphis in 2019, there was a ton of buzz surrounding the pick.
Unfortunately, Henderson was not able to live up to the hype in his rookie season as he was not awarded many touches playing behind Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown, and then he dealt with an ankle injury late in the season that landed him on injured reserve.
The 2020 season should be a much different one for Henderson with Gurley no longer in the organization. He is expected to compete for the Rams’ starting job during training camp along with Brown and Cam Akers, who was drafted in the second round out of Florida State this year.
In order for Henderson to compete for the job though, he has to be 100 percent healthy. He recently gave a positive update on the health of his ankle, which required surgery at the end of the season, via Cameron DaSilva of USA Today:
“I’m here in L.A. at the facility because I had surgery at the end of the season so I’m still out here rehabbing and taking it day by day and getting better,” he said before being asked how the rehab is going. “It’s going pretty good. I feel great and I’m moving pretty good.”
Henderson said he hasn’t really had a chance to go back home this offseason and has been staying out west for his rehab. He said he might go back home for a week after the Rams’ virtual offseason program ends, but he’s only focused on “making sure I’m back to 100 percent.”
Henderson added that he will be ready to take the field without limitations when training camp begins:
“Yeah, I’m good to go now. If they were able to practice [now], I’d be out there, no limits,” he said.
Considering how much Henderson has riding on training camp this year, it is good to see that he is making positive progress in his rehab and is expected to be 100 percent.
The most likely scenario is that all three running backs split touches to begin the season until one or two emerge since they likely won’t get much playing time during the preseason.
With Henderson’s ability to catch passes out of the backfield as well as return kicks, he should see his role increase in 2020 even if he does not win the starting running back job.
