WS Chronicle

K.J. Henry was a standout football player for the West Forsyth Titans. As a top 10 national recruit, Henry chose to play his college football with the Clemson Tigers and won a national championship in 2018. Henry was then drafted by the Washington Commanders in the 5th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He had stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys before finishing his season with Philadelphia Eagles and a Super Bowl title. 

Henry recently sat down with The Chronicle to discuss his NFL journey and what it feels like to become a Super Bowl champion. 

Question: After being drafted by the Commanders, what were your thoughts heading into training camp for the first time? 

Answer: Heading into camp, there was excitement to be at that level and I felt confident in where my game was.  Really, just excited to get going and start my career in the NFL, for sure. 

Q: What was the biggest difference you noticed from college to the NFL? 

A: The biggest difference to me was the quality depth. And by that I mean, at the college level, even with the best of the best schools, you are going to see a drop-off across the board from the starters to your second-string guys. But, in the NFL, of course, you have your superstar players, but for those guys who are on league average contracts, there is not a big difference from the starters to the backups, for the most part. The quality depth in the NFL is a big difference as far as everyone on the field that has a helmet on is good at football in some capacity. 

Q: What was your rookie season like playing for the Commanders? 

A: It was filled with ups and downs. As a rookie, I was just excited to be in the club and excited to be a part of the league and kind of just wanted to put my best foot forward. At the same time, I am a competitor, and we didn’t really win a lot and that was tough.  There were a lot of losses, and it made the mood in the building kind of tough to go to work. 

As the season went on, things picked up for me personally as guys got traded and I got more playtime opportunities.  All in all, we were playing to win games, and we just didn’t get to do that, that year. It was filled with good and bad moments, but I definitely was able to learn and that helped me out in year two, for sure. 

Q: What was it like coming from a culture of winning, and dealing with the losing that came with the Washington franchise at the time? 

A: It helped me become mentally stronger because when you’re not winning games, you have to remind yourself what your purpose is and why you are going out there to play each game even though you aren’t the team that’s favored to win. That was the biggest thing I learned that helped me going into year two. 

Q: Who was the veteran in the locker room that took you under their wing and showed you the ropes of what it’s like to be a professional football player? 

A: I would have to say Jonathan Allen, the defensive tackle there. We still talk and are good friends to this day. He is someone I can lean on and was like a big brother who definitely wanted to help and see me get better. He was a guy I could talk to when moments of frustration were circling through my mind as the year went on. 

Q: What was your thought process following your rookie season? 

A: Going into the offseason, I was just happy to sleep on my mom’s couch. I was happy that mom was making breakfast. As the season ends, a lot of guys say let’s go on vacation, but for me, I had been away from family and been in the grind as the rookie year is so long.   

I just went home for like a month and watched my little brother play basketball, ate home cooking and was asleep on the couch all day. That was awesome, I really loved that. Then I went to training in Arizona. This was my first time doing offseason training, not as a rookie, so kind of finding my rhythm there to see what it would take to get my mind and body right for the season. 

Q: When did you find out you wouldn’t be returning to Washington? 

A: After fall camp.  As we call it in the league, it was cut day. That was a shocker for sure, especially since I felt like I had a good camp. Internally, as a player, a lot of times guys don’t get surprised, but it really did surprise me because in the last preseason game, I went out there with the starters. They held my reps because they wanted to see other guys play. They were treating me as someone who was ready to take the next steps into the season. 

Through conversations it seemed like they wanted to pivot a different way. Right after camp is when I got the news, and they went in a different direction. 

Q: After getting the unfortunate news from Washington, what was your next move? 

A: Whenever you get released, there is a 24-hour period called the waiver wire. That is when teams are allowed to claim you. Depending on how teams finish the season determines who gets dibs first. So, if the Panthers and Chiefs wanted me, the Panthers would have gotten dibs on me and that’s kind of how it works. 

I got picked up by the Bengals on the waiver wire. They had some injuries, so I was able to go there while guys were getting healthy. Once guys got healthy in Cincy, they put me on the practice squad. Dallas had some guys get hurt and they picked me up from the practice squad. Guys got healthy there and then I finally had the opportunity to pick where I wanted to go, and I chose Philadelphia. Their plan wasn’t necessarily for me to play immediately and picked me up for their practice squad. They appreciated my skillset, so they brought me in to show me the ropes and get me ready for next season. I think it worked out as a good decision. 

Q: Are the rumors about the circus in Dallas accurate? 

A: They are accurate if you aren’t used to it. By that I mean, at Clemson, we are a program where we have tours and people that come see the facility. A lot of fans get to come and participate for certain events, so I am used to that. I can only speak for myself, I didn’t feel uncomfortable. There were times I can definitely see why someone from a different background could feel that way, depending on what your norm is.   

It definitely was interesting because my first day at practice was the day that Jerry Jones landed his helicopter on the field. I thought that was an everyday thing and caught me off guard and soon found out that was not the case. I had a good time. 

Q: We all hear a lot about a winning culture in sports. Is the culture in the Philly locker room that much of a difference than others you have been in? 

A: You have to have good players but culture is the icing on the cake, and we have that here 100%. For the good teams, culture is what keeps everything tied into the same mission. At this level, culture and brotherhood is something I saw this year that I did see on our 2018 National Championship team. With those two teams, I would have to say culture was a big part in winning, for sure. 

Q: What was it like being a part of that Philly team during the latter part of the season and playoffs? 

A: Guys were just locked in. We came in every day and just focused on the next mission. I think attention to detail was a big thing I noticed with this team. That was probably what really showed during that time. All we talk about is football and creating opportunities for the team. I think that showed up in the biggest moments. 

Q: You won in college, and you won in the pros. If you could go back and tell your 18-year-old self about your path, would you believe it? 

A: I would have laughed at myself, becuase I knew it wouldn’t be true. I am just big on putting my best foot forward and go where God takes me. I would have never imagined I would have these two things on my resume. It’s a blessing, it really is, and I feel like it’s taken a lot of work but it’s definitely God putting me in the right spot and giving me confidence.   

Yes, I won a Super Bowl and now everybody is ready to talk and celebrate me and it’s appreciated, but I also got fired three times this year. This unwavering faith is something that I can really lean on and allowed me to keep going no matter the highs and lows. 

Q: Was it hard for you to deal with the adversity you had to endure this season, because I don’t think you have had to deal with something like this athletically previously? 

A: My past had nothing to do with it, cause that’s what it is, my past. Really, in situations like that, if I feel like I am the man for the job or good enough to get the job done and someone feels differently, that’s when it’s hard to swallow that pill. The NFL is essentially the college all-star league, so everybody was the guy in high school and college to some capacity. That’s just the fraternity I am in, but if I know I can get the job done, then it’s kind of tough for someone to disagree with that. 

Q: What is the goal for this offseason and the plan for next year? 

A: The plan is to get back out on the field and compete. It’s definitely a quicker turnover and another offseason that I am now a vet. I will enjoy my vacation and get into the gym sooner than I did last season and get back to work.  The goal is to get back to the top of the mountain, but you have to start at base camp and the climb comes very soon.