Titan RBs Henry, Brown working to co-exist together

How will they both handle the upcoming season in the same backfield?

“The only thing I can say is he’s got a role to play. I’ve got a role to play,” Henry said Tuesday after a practice in which he took all the work with the first-team offense while Brown watched because he felt ill with a virus.

“We’ve both got to accept whatever role is given us and go from there.”

The Titans obtained the former University of Tennessee running back from Buffalo for a third-round draft pick two weeks before training camp opened.

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow didn’t waste any time drawing up a few plays featuring two running backs in the same backfield to take advantage of their skills both running and catching the ball. His biggest worry for now is not tipping the Titans’ hand toward a pass or a run.

“That’s what we’re doing now, experimenting with a couple things to see what we can work with,” Chow said.

He had plenty experience divvying up carries at Southern California last season with LenDale White and Reggie Bush.

Henry demanded a trade out of Buffalo because his job had been given to Willis McGahee even though Henry averaged 4 yards a carry in four seasons and played through injuries like a broken leg. He has 3,849 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Brown took over as the Titans’ starter last season and responded with 1,067 yards on 220 carries despite missing five games with turf toe. He has welcomed Henry, publicly saying he is for anything that makes the Titans better.

Quarterback Steve McNair said he loves having Henry and Brown together.

“When you’ve got two great backs, you can do a lot of different things coming out of the backfield. That’s what this offense is all about — creating mismatches and making sure we get the guys on the right defender and go at it,” McNair said.

Henry could help the Titans most on short yardage situations. They didn’t have a player in the top 19 on third down last season, but McNair thinks they’ll be able to take advantage of mismatches with Henry’s speed against linebackers.

“If we need to get that one yard, I think he has the power in his legs he can get it,” McNair said.

Henry isn’t worried about any mistakes early since he’s learning the offense. He said both backs have proven they can play in the NFL and whatever happens will be best for the Titans. If someone loses out, that’s football.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to go out and get the job done,” Henry said. “So whoever gets the job done, that’s who’s going to be happy basically.”