NASHVILLE - Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel said the team has some time to make the decision on moving Derrick Henry from injured reserve back to the active roster.
Vrabel likes what he's seen of Henry, the two-time reigning NFL rushing champion, in the three days he has practiced this week after a long layoff due to injury.
"I think that he looked good," Vrabel said Friday. "We continue to track his speed and his mileage and volume and see how he responds. Two days on the turf, we will see where he is at tomorrow and see how he responds. I feel good about where he is at."
Henry, who turned 28 on Tuesday, broke his right foot Oct. 31 during an overtime road win against the Indianapolis Colts and had surgery Nov. 2 to repair his fifth metatarsal. Henry led the league with 937 rushing yards when he was put on injured reserve, and he ranks sixth entering the final week of the regular season despite missing eight games.
The Titans (11-5) travel Saturday to Houston for their regular-season and AFC South finale against the Texans (4-12). Tennessee, which last Sunday locked up its second straight division title and third straight playoff berth in Vrabel's four seasons, needs a victory to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That would give the franchise a first-round bye for the first time since the 2008 season.
A winter storm that dropped a half-foot of snow Thursday in Nashville sent the Titans indoors for practice that day and Friday. Vrabel said practicing indoors wouldn't affect the decision of activating Henry, the reigning offensive player of the year.
"You are still able to do stuff that he would normally do in practice if we were outside," Vrabel said.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pounder's average of 117.1 rushing yards a game leads the league this season, when he has averaged 4.3 yards per carry and rushed for 10 touchdowns. In his past two games in Houston, Henry has a combined five touchdowns and 461 rushing yards.
While waiting to make a call on Henry, the Titans did rule out a pair of defensive linemen for the game in Houston. Teair Tart (ankle) was added to the injury report Thursday, while Naquan Jones (knee) has not practiced all week.