Around the NFL
The odds are improving that Chris Henry will make it back into the NFL. He’s had a lengthy list of off-field problems during his brief career and is currently suspended indefinitely, but it’s now looking far less likely that he’ll be convicted of punching a college student in March.
The first trial ended today with a deadlocked jury. After listening to the evidence, that jury voted by a 6-2 margin that Henry should be acquitted. The judge has now ordered that the case by re-tried with a new jury.
But should this case even be re-tried? If the prosecutors could only convince 2 of 8 jurors to vote guilty the first time, what’s the point in wasting a bunch of time and money going through all the evidence again?
It’s looking more and more likely that Henry will either be acquitted, that the charges will be dropped, or that Henry will accept some kind of deal, perhaps pleading guilty to lesser charges. And once this issue is resolved in any of those ways, the league office will have little option but to drop its suspension.
At that point, Henry – troubled as he is – becomes by far the most talented free agent wide receiver available. He’s tall and fast, and he’s shown some ability to make plays. He scored 9 TDs in 13 games two years ago. He has the wheels to get behind defenses, and he’s also a nice red-zone option.
Certainly, a lot of teams could use that kind of talent on their rosters – Miami, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, San Francisco and Seattle come to mind. All it will take is for one of those teams to have a decent interview with him – to figure that he can keep his off-field problems under control.
On my board, I’m now figuring that there’s about a 70 percent chance that Henry is going to play this season. And with his talent, it’s possible he’ll be a factor. Getting reinstated by the league and getting on a team quickly (so he can learn a team’s offense) is going to be the key for him.
Cincinnati’s Local 12 TV news website has the rundown on Henry’s case right here.
—Ian Allan
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
