LB Hendricks Legacy is One of the All-Time Best
Ted Hendricks is the best outside linebacker for the Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders.
The 6-7 220-pound Hendricks, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, was an intimidating force on the outside even before he came to the Raiders for a brilliant nine-year career from 1975-83 after starring for the Baltimore Colts.
“Ted Hendricks had every endowment, every physical one of those needed by the premier linebackers in the NFL,” Raiders owner Al Davis said while introducing Henricks to the Hall of Fame in 1990. “He could attack the pocket with the greatest of them all … but he could play space with devastating efficiency, intercepting passes anywhere on the field.
“Hendricks was nearly impossible to block at the point of attack, he was one of the first who could actually dictate to the offense, and on fourth down, he could block field goals and punts and extra points like no other player in the history of the game. He was the consummate linebacker, more complete, more all-around than anyone else who played this great game. His records, as well as his play, prove it, and this 6-7 giant was guided by a killer mentality.”
Hendricks was a star before he came to the Raiders, being selected by the Baltimore Colts in the second round (No. 33 overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft, following an All-American career at Miami (Fla.), where he was named 1968 National Lineman of the Year by United Press International and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
After being a part-time starter for the Colts as a rookie, Henricks started every game for the Colts over the next five seasons, becoming a star in 1971 with five sacks, five pass interceptions that he returned for 70 yards, and a fumble recovery that he took 31 yards for a touchdown.
Once again, we mention that tackles were not yet an official statistic in the NFL, but Hendricks had plenty. That helped him be selected to the All-Pro team for the first of six times and make the first of his eight Pro Bowls.
The Raiders noticed Hendricks the year before when he made a key sack of quarterback Daryle Lamonica as the Colts beat Oakland, 27-17, in the AFC Championship Game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore en route to winning Super Bowl V, 16-13, over the Dallas Cowboys at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Hendricks unofficially had 347 tackles and 18½ sacks in his five seasons with the Colts, plus 11 interceptions for 147 yards in returns, and added five fumble recoveries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
However, he played his final season in Baltimore without a contract and signed with the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League in 1974, the WFL went bankrupt, and the Colts traded him to the Green Bay Packers. He had 75 tackles, five interceptions, seven blocked kicks, and two sacks for the Pack that season to make All-Pro again.
The Managing General Partner Davis of the Raiders signed Henricks to a free-agent contract, and he had nine great seasons with the Silver and Black. Although statistics are incomplete for those years, we know he had at least 363 tackles and 60½ sacks while blocking an NFL record 27 kicks in addition to making 26 interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown and recovering 16 fumbles, one for a score, and making four tackles for safeties.
Hendricks, who played in 215 games and never missed one in his career, was a key member of Raider's teams that won Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII.
In addition, he was selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, his second year of eligibility. In his final game, the Raiders routed the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.
"I was always big on just being ready to play on Sunday, and then play like hell," Raiders Hall of Fame Coach John Madden said. "(Hendricks) was the epitome of that. He might do something crazy on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, but there was nobody more ready to play when the game began."
Hendricks was known to be a little goofy and was nicknamed "The Mad Stork" and "Kick 'Em in the Head, Ted." He once rode a horse onto the Raiders' practice field during training camp and also wore a huge harlequin mask over the bottom half of his face on the bench when they showed him on TV during a nationally-televised Monday Night Football Game.
However, when it was time to play, Ted Hendricks was one of the best linebackers in NFL history.
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The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period began at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.
The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this offseason.
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