John

Henderson

He deserve to be there more than his teammate Marcus Stroud anyhow. Henderson had an exceptional year and is one of the league’s best young interior lineman.

Henderson has missed the last two games after saying that he wouldn’t miss a single one. “He was getting better every day, and then Saturday and Sunday it got really sore doing nothing,” Cable said. Henderson is only a situational run stuffer at this point in his career.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Vittorio Tafur puts a “2-5 week” timetable on Henderson’s recovery. The Raiders are getting mauled in the defensive trenches, and Big John’s loss won’t help. He’s their top pure run stopper.

Owner Al Davis is reportedly wielding more control over his franchise right now than at any time in the recent past, and he’s spending money like a dozen drunken sailors on shore leave. Big John emerged as the Raiders’ best pure run stopper last season, but it’s yet another questionable contract for Oakland. Henderson earned just $1 million last season while missing seven games.

In a bit of shocking news, the Raiders have actually made a solid personnel move. Henderson’s pass rushing skills are declining but he can still stuff the run at age 31. He’s been a 4-3 lineman for his entire career and there’s little risk here thanks to the one-year deal. He could also play some end in a 3-4 if the Raiders end up shifting that way.

The Jags offered Henderson to the Raiders for a fourth-rounder, and Oakland countered with a fifth. Considering the outrageous going rate for fifth-round picks during draft time, Jags GM Gene Smith obviously overplayed his hand with Henderson.

Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly are the starters, and undrafted gem Desmond Bryant is No. 3. Henderson can still play the run, but he doesn’t have a prayer rushing the quarterback. He was a fine situational addition.

Henderson was released with a failed physical designation. He missed the final three games of the 2011 season with a knee injury. Henderson ended up only starting five games in two years after originally signing with the Raiders in June 2010, but was still an elite run stuffer as a part-time player in 2011. He’ll draw interest on the open market.

Henderson had a season-high seven tackles and a quarterback hit on Sunday, and with DT Richard Seymour potentially facing a suspension the D-Line could get thin. For a unit giving up the most yards per carry to opposing rushers in the league, things could get ugly quick with a few bad breaks.

Routt was simply the canary in the coal mine. New GM Reggie McKenzie made it clear last week that he would make moves to adjust a roster with “out of whack” contracts. Huff ($4 million salary + $4 million bonus), Kelly ($6 million), Henderson ($4 million), and Johnson ($3.5 million) could be on the way out as the Raiders overhaul a defense that set franchise-worst records for TD passes allowed, yards per carry, yards passing and total yards.