The Tennessee Titans haven't pulled the trigger on a trade involving Derrick Henry, and the team hasn't stated he's available. General manager Ran Carthon also told the media last month he'd received no calls regarding the 29-year-old running back.

But if you know how the NFL works, you know that doesn't mean much.

The reality is the Titans should be determined to trade Henry. He's a legendary player coming off the third 1,500-plus-yard season of his career, but he's also approaching 30 at a fragile position with the shortest shelf life in professional football.

The Titans might fancy themselves contenders, but that they ain't. They lost 10 games with a minus-61 scoring margin and ranked in the bottom 10 in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders in 2022, and only three teams have lower Super Bowl odds at DraftKings.

The AFC South might not be strong, but the conference is loaded and Tennessee is extremely unlikely to make a sudden Super Bowl run even if Henry and veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill remain healthy and effective.

The team was thinking long-term (and possibly even rebuild) when it used a critical second-round draft pick last month on Tannehill's ideal successor, Will Levis, and it would actually make sense to move on from both Henry and the soon-to-be 35-year-old, declining Tannehill sooner than later.

Both possess contracts that are scheduled to expire following the 2023 season anyway, so now's the time to get something of significant value back.

But because quarterback is a more important position and Levis is no sure thing and Henry can become a special piece for a contender right now, we're focusing on him in this analysis.