duey Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Patience Key In Henry Deal to Titans Mark Ludwiczak, buffalobills.com 07/18/2005 5:45 PM Patience was indeed a virtue for the Buffalo Bills as they announced Monday that they traded running back Travis Henry to the Tennessee Titans for a third-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. "We have completed the trade with Tennessee for Travis Henry," Bills' President/GM Tom Donahoe said. "Travis does have to report and pass a physical, it's our understanding that he's scheduled to do that [Tuesday]. But the trade has been approved by the league. Once he passes the physical it will be official." With a number of running backs available this offseason, both through the draft and through possible trades, it wasn't easy for the Bills to find an acceptable trade for Henry But they were able to get what they wanted all along, which was a solid third-round pick. "It's probably been almost as difficult as childbirth, at least from what my wife tells me," Donahoe deadpanned. "But we're really glad it's over." Donahoe was quick to thank Henry for all that he brought to the Bills during his time as a Bill. "I certainly want to thank Travis Henry for what he did while he was here in Buffalo," Donahoe said. "He was a warrior and an outstanding player for us. It became obvious to us toward the end of last season and at the conclusion of the season that Travis just did not want to be here. We really are not interested in having players here who do not want to be here. It just creates a distraction." Donahoe said the two teams came to a verbal agreement Tuesday night, at which time Tennessee asked for some time to work on Henry's contract. He also clarified the interest surrounding Henry from other teams around the league. Donahoe said the Seahawks had shown the next most interest, followed by the Jaguars (contrary to published reports). "Jacksonville was really up and down and couldn't seem to make up their mind with what they wanted to do," Donahoe said. Other reports said the Jaguars were close to a deal with the Bills. But Donahoe said that Jacksonville had planned on talking to the Bills after watching back Fred Taylor workout on Monday, at which point the Jaguars told Buffalo they weren't interested. Jacksonville tried to get back in the running Tuesday evening after the Bills agreed to a deal with the Titans, and Donahoe told them that the Bills had a deal in principle with the Titans, and if it fell through then they would get back to them. The Bills then didn't hear back from the Jaguars until Friday evening, at which point the trade details had already been faxed to the league. Jacksonville also did not raise their offer either. "Tennessee gave us the best offer and gave us really what we were looking for," he said. In the end, the deal worked out for both teams. Tennessee got a starting caliber running back (to compete with injury riddled back Chris Brown) and the Bills got a Day 1 pick in the draft. And Donahoe made it clear that he respected Henry and wished him the best in the future. "We liked everything that he did for us," Donahoe said. "He played hurt. He was productive. He was very durable as running backs go in this league. If Travis' agent would not have approached us last Feburary, and Travis was so adamant about not coming back, we certainly would not have gone out on our own and done this. We'd like to have Travis on our football team, but we just couldn't think it would work." During his four-year stay with the Bills, Henry rushed for 3,849 yards and 27 touchdowns on 963 carries. He had two of the best single-season rushing performances ever by a Bill with 1,438 yards in 2002 (fifth-most in team history) and 1,356 yards in 2003 (seventh-most in team history) before losing his starting job to Willis McGahee in 2004. Some of his highlights with the Bills include rushing for a career-high 169 yards in a win against Washington in 2003 and his two game-winning overtime touchdowns against the Chicago (in 2002) and Cincinnati (in 2004). Henry gained a reputation as a hard-nosed, blue-collar back after missing only one game due to torn rib cartilage and playing much of the 2003 season with a broken leg. In fact, going to Tennessee will be a homecoming of sorts for Henry. The back went to school at the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of the Volunteers' national championship team in 1998. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=3261 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duey Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 And...ouch! "Jacksonville was really up and down and couldn't seem to make up their mind with what they wanted to do," Donahoe said." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawnboy1977 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 And...ouch! "Jacksonville was really up and down and couldn't seem to make up their mind with what they wanted to do," Donahoe said." 384628[/snapback] good article. I think in the end it worked out, we didnt have to take LJ Shelton, who as far as I know has not landed with another team yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 good article. I think in the end it worked out, we didnt have to take LJ Shelton, who as far as I know has not landed with another team yet. 384638[/snapback] didn't cleveland sign him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 didn't cleveland sign him? 384655[/snapback] Yes, Cleveland signed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Yes, Cleveland signed him. 384662[/snapback] thanks, i thought cleveland signed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Cleveland signed him for less than half of what he was scheduled to make in 2005 in base salary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cåblelady Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Cleveland signed him for less than half of what he was scheduled to make in 2005 in base salary. 384675[/snapback] That's dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duey Posted July 19, 2005 Author Share Posted July 19, 2005 good article. I think in the end it worked out, we didnt have to take LJ Shelton, who as far as I know has not landed with another team yet. 384638[/snapback] I agree. I think we have to be pleased with how it turned out. I think TD did a solid job at get a first day pick for Travis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Playfair Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 very happy the saga is over for both TH and the bills (and this board!). I think it was fair value considering everything, and I expect travis to do very well with with Tenn. He played like a true warrior for us and I loved him for playing hurt, but we have something better in Willis. Hope Willis stays healthy, but Lee is a good back up and depth is very important (same with Holcomb.) Go Bills. nice job TD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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