PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Henley Returns From Long ‘Off-Season’

Cornerback Darryl Henley was back in a Ram uniform Thursday, rejoining the team that released him last May after he was indicted on federal drug trafficking charges--and saying that football is the only thing he’s worried about right now.

“I just had a longer off-season,” Henley said, describing a sabbatical from the NFL that began Oct. 5 with a leave of absence after federal agents began investigating his alleged role in a cocaine distribution network they say operated out of his home in Brea.

Several outraged callers to the Rams’ Anaheim headquarters Thursday weren’t nearly as nonchalant, one going so far as to say he was canceling his season tickets.

Henley, awaiting a Jan. 10 trial, on Wednesday signed a one-year, $350,000 contract that includes several incentive clauses. He worked out twice with the team Thursday.

Henley refused to talk about the specifics of the drug charges after the morning practice, saying only that they hadn’t been a distraction in his preparation for the season.

“None (at all),” he said. “I act like you guys (reporters) aren’t even there. That’s my focus. It’s only a distraction if I let it become a distraction.

“I’m not going to say anything or relate to anything concerning the things that have happened. I’ve been directed by counsel, and that’s the best way.”