FanHouse KennyIrons

Perry appears to have his work cut out for him in what is turning out to be a crowded backfield for the Bengals. He will have to prove himself during training camp and will have some stiff competition. Kenny Watson, DeDe Dorsey and rookie free agent James Johnson, who has been very impressive in practice thus far, are vying for playing time behind starter Rudi Johnson.

...Perry claims he's "87.5 percent" healthy after entering minicamp at 80 percent. "It'll be a blessing to be back on the field," Perry said.

He flashed speed, quickness and acceleration the entire camp, and made numerous catches with his large hands. "I certainly hope he can sustain it and maintain it, because that will give us some juice we've been lacking," Bratkowski said.

Head coach Marvin Lewis passed out t-shirts to his Bengals team with the word NOW plastered across the back. It is the latest in a line of slogans Lewis' brings out to try to unite his team. I'm not as giddy about these things as the next guy, but I do like the sentiment.

However, to even attempt to deal with the NOW, you must remember the THEN because, of course, it is greatly affecting the NOW.

THEN: Chad Johnson's spring of chatting his way out of Cincinnati has been a blackest cloud over the organization. He's threatened not to show up to anything and has spent his time being a horrible teammate. NOW: Well, he is eating up a lot of cap space, is a huge part of what the Bengals want to do on offense and will be a huge distraction if he is or isn't in camp.

THEN: TJ Houshmandzadeh tied for the NFL lead in receptions last season. NOW: He wants to get paid like it. This story goes almost hand-in-hand with the Chad Johnson one. Housh deserves to get his raise ... but how much? And will it drive a bigger wedge between the team and Ocho Cinco?

Wait. Did I just type that someone wants to be a Cincinnati Bengal? This spring, you haven't heard much of that. Chad Johnson and Levi Jones have spent the offseason begging to go somewhere else. Well, now we find someone that wants to be in the Queen City: Shaun Alexander.

Yes, Alexander is interesting in combing back to his roots and his agent said he will contact the Bengals:

"Making calls to teams. Bengals are on our list!" Jim Steiner, Alexander's agent, told The Enquirer in an e-mail Wednesday.

Alexander was born across the river in Covington and was raised in Florence, KY. He starred at Boone County High School which now sits off Shaun Alexander Way (and not too far from where I'm sitting). Since he left for college in Alabama, the locals have followed his progress with great pride ... and he still returns for various charitable causes.

But should the Bengals have any interest back? That's tough. They already have Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Chris Perry and DeDe Dorsey. They used a second round pick on Kenny Irons last year, who then shredded his knee in the preseason. From a bodies standpoint, they have enough people back there.