Derrick Henry shares heart-warming story behind his purple suit

The newest Ravens’ outfit he wore at his introductory press conference was an homage to more than just the Flock.

On Thursday, the newest member of the Baltimore Ravens showed up the Under Amour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Maryland to officially put pen to paper and was dressed to impress.

Four-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry stepped out of his ride to the facility sporting a perfectly tailored suit that just so happened to be the same colors of his new team’s uniforms.

The suit itself, however, wasn’t new and has a heart-warming story behind it because it was more than just the perfect ensemble to wear to his first day on the job, it was also an homage to his late grandmother who raised him.

“This is actually the suit I wore to my grandmother’s funeral,” Henry said. “She died in 2016, and [purple] is her favorite color. So, whenever Eric [DeCosta] told me that I would be coming to do a presser, I was like, ‘I’ve got to wear this suit.’ We’re actually moving these next [few] weeks, so I was scrambling through boxes, pulling everything out, trying to find this suit and be able to put it together. I definitely wanted to wear this color to honor her and show all the fans around Flock Nation that I’m ready, and I’m on board.”

When asked a follow up question about how he thinks his grandmother would feel about him signing with the Ravens, a teams whose primary color is her favorite, he said she would’ve “definitely” been excited. He then went on to share how he still feels her presence in times of uncertainty including as recently as earlier this week prior to the legal tampering period.

“The day before free agency, we were outside in my yard playing, I was outside playing with my daughter,” Henry said. “My grandmother loved butterflies, [and] in Tennessee, I used to always see a butterfly at every practice. In the house we live in now, [we] never saw one since we’ve been there. We’ve been there going on two years. And that day, a butterfly just flew around me constantly, and I knew that was kind of like a reminder that she was around, and everything was going to be alright.”

Henry said he comes from a family that was both “hard-working and supportive” where he was tight to have strong faith in a higher power find a sense of direction and turn to when times get tough.

“[My grandmother] raised me to always put God first, trust and believe in His plan, and it’s not always your time; it’s His time, and His time is always perfect,” Henry said. “So, that’s what I always believe in. She raised me to always have great manners, be respectful, earn everything that I want out of life and never give up on my dream and what I want to accomplish.”