Rams Put Emphasis on Game : Pro football: Allegations against Henley are put aside during practice. Henderson is added to roster.

There were eight pairs of shoes, a helmet and shoulder pads hanging in Darryl Henley’s locker, as he had left it Monday when he and his Ram teammates began a three-day bye-week break.

There is no way of knowing if Henley will ever have use again for such gear, but then, as Henley’s teammates pointed out Friday, their immediate concern is the game against Atlanta to be played Thursday night.

The Rams returned to work Friday for the first time since hearing reports of Henley’s alleged role in a cocaine-trafficking network. An affidavit prepared by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleges Henley’s Brea home was the distribution point for a cross-country narcotics network that made shipments to Atlanta and Memphis.

The affidavit, which seeks a search warrant for Henley’s home, said that in April, Henley recruited Tracy Donaho, 20, then a Ram cheerleader. She was to pick up packages from his Brea residence and deliver them, either by commercial parcel service or in person, to various locations on at least four occasions, the affidavit alleges.

After she had been arrested for allegedly transporting about 25 pounds of cocaine to Atlanta in mid-July, Donaho told investigators she was under the impression she was transporting large sums of money, not drugs, for Henley.

Under questioning by the Atlanta-based DEA agents, Donaho said she was a courier for Henley and one of his friends, Willie McGowen. Four days after her arrest, Donaho was freed on bond and later the charges were dismissed.

Henley is the “source of the cocaine” that was seized from Donaho in Atlanta, the affidavit alleges. It also claims that Rex Henley, Darryl Henley’s 30-year-old uncle, was involved.

But Friday was business as usual at Rams Park, except for the new dark green tarp covering the cyclone fence outside. The tarp, along with cameras and alarms to be installed shortly, are part of increased security after a September incident in which three men confronted Henley outside the practice facility.

While there have been indications from outside sources that players were aware of Henley’s problem that day, players declined to comment specifically.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t watch the news and I don’t read the newspapers, so I really don’t know what’s going on,” said wide receiver Flipper Anderson, who has known Henley for nine years, including time together at UCLA. “So if you want to ask me anything about Darryl Henley, I don’t really have any comment.

“Life goes on, and Darryl is going to have to deal with what happens to Darryl. We got a game next Thursday that we have to deal with.”

Safety and defensive captain Anthony Newman said he also had no contact with Henley.

“We’re not around that type of thing, and a friend that you know that they say is hooked up into it, well, you’re shocked by it,” he said.

“Darryl’s a friend, and we feel for him as a friend, but that’s as far as it goes because we don’t know anything, and we don’t want to know anything.”

On the field, Robert Bailey stood in Henley’s place as starting right cornerback. Cornerback Wymon Henderson was signed and on hand to replace Henley on the 53-man roster.

“Certainly everybody has feelings for Darryl Henley,” Coach Chuck Knox said. “But they have to go on and do what they have to do.”