Sportsnaut
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry had an outstanding 2024 NFL season, rushing for 1,921 yards on 325 carries with 16 touchdowns in 17 games.
The stellar performance earned him his fifth Pro Bowl selection.
Despite his impressive stats, he fell 79 yards short of reaching the 2,000-yard rushing milestone, which would have made him the first player in NFL history with multiple 2,000-yard seasons.
Can he eclipse that mark in 2025? It’s certainly possible. But if he needed any extra incentive, he just got a ton of it from veteran sports talk host Dan Patrick.
It turns out Derrick Henry is a huge fan of actor and comedian Adam Sandler. You know, Happy Gilmore, who just so happens to have a major movie coming out in July.
“If you ever see him again, tell him I’m a really big fan, I would really love to meet him one day,” Henry said. But Patrick responded that he’d do him one better by sending Sandler a text.
“You know what I’m going to do?” Patrick replied. “I’m going to text him today and ask if he’ll send a video.”
Henry was thrilled. However, the offer was then significantly sweetened.
“And – if you get to 2,000 yards,” Patrick added. “I’ll get you in a Sandler movie.”
“Cool,” the Ravens star said, smiling. “Say no more.”
We’d hate to be on an opposing team having to face Henry when he’s got that kind of motivation behind him. It might not be Happy Gilmore 2, but any Sandler movie is box office money, and there’s no doubt that Henry would view it as a thrill of a lifetime.
@yahoosports Dan Patrick will get Derrick Henry in an Adam Sandler movie if he reaches 2000 rushing yards this fall 😤 (via @Dan Patrick Show) #derrickhenry #adamsandler #baltimoreravens #nfloffseason ♬ original sound – Yahoo Sports
RELATED: Saquon Barkley’s Legendary Leap Immortalized on Cover of Madden 2026
Derrick Henry is obviously capable of hitting the 2,000-yard mark. He’s already done it in a season with one fewer game. And he almost did it again this past season.
It’ll most likely come down to whether or not he can stay healthy. A healthy Henry is a lethal Henry.
Derrick is one of nine players in NFL history, including the only man to outrush him last year, Saquon Barkley, who have had 2,000 yards in a season.
Barkley, who finished with 2,005 yards in the regular season and set an NFL record with 2,504 rushing yards, including the postseason, got his own reward for his efforts.
He had his backwards leap against the Jacksonville Jaguars defense immortalized on the cover of Madden NFL 26.
Madden, though, has a famous curse. With Sandler, we’re not aware of one.
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