Raiders Franchise Kamerion Wimbley; Re-sign Stanford Routt, John Henderson

by Dennis J. GeorgatosFiled under: Raiders, AFC WestThe Raiders continue securing major elements of their rising defense. On Thursday, the team used its franchise tag to retain linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. He led the Raiders last season with nine sacks in his first year with the club after joining the team in a trade with Cleveland. In addition, ESPN.com reported that the Raiders reached multi-year deals with Stanford Routt, who beat out Chris Johnson for the starting right cornerback job last season, and defensive lineman John Henderson, a key run-stopper. The Raiders initially hoped to use a $3.5 million buyback provision to retain Wimbley but that move was rescinded by the NFL, citing the league's contract rules barring annual increases in base salaries beyond 30 percent. Under the franchise tag, which pays the designee the average of the five highest paid players at his position, Wimbley could receive about $10 million. His agent, Joe Linta, told The Associated Press tha...