INDIANAPOLIS — In just a couple of weeks, Derrick Henry is set to hit free agency for the first time in his illustrious NFL career. Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon knows just how badly the team's fans want Henry to stay home.

"I hear that question around town a lot," Carthon said from the NFL combine Tuesday. "People will come and the first thing they’ll say is, ‘Hey, we’re not going to lose Derrick, are we?’ I think in my 12 months I probably have gotten more Derrick Henry questions than anything. I understand that piece of it."

Carthon says the sentimental aspect of how much Henry means to Titans fans and the Nashville community weighs into his decision-making process. But in a world where running backs are commanding less money on the open market and more teams are turning to running-back-by-committee systems, the 30-year-old Henry's value as a volume runner isn't what it used to be.

That's why Carthon says the other factor that weighs on his decision is a "responsibility to build this team long term."

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Titans coach Brian Callahan says he can envision a role for Henry in his offense. He calls the idea of a volume back who can't succeed without touching the ball 20 to 25 times per game a myth. There's value in building around running backs, Callahan says — it's just a matter of finding the right division of labor.

Callahan says he has "reached out" to Henry, as has tight ends coach Justin Outten, who was Henry's running backs coach last season. Carthon, as a policy, doesn't discuss contract negotiation details publicly but says he had a good exit interview with Henry after the season, and Carthon knows where Henry is at mentally as much as Henry knows what the Titans are building toward.

Carthon says the Titans will be "well-positioned" to negotiate with Henry and his camp when the time is right, and Callahan has some hope that Henry feels just as sentimental about the Titans as Titans fans do about him.

"I think there’s a great relationship with him and the organization that I know he’s always going to have the Titans in his heart," Callahan said. "Whatever that looks like moving forward, we’ll keep working through it. But I know what he means to the city and the team and I’m looking forward to getting to know him."

NFL free agency begins March 13. Opposing teams may begin negotiating with players set to become free agents on March 11.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: GM Ran Carthon says Tennessee Titans stay open to Derrick Henry return