Henry Practices: Big Willie Out

By Adam Kiefaber

Many us in Bengal World thought this day would never come - Chris Henry (right) has been cleared by the NFL to begin practicing with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Amazing!

Personally, I thought that Chris Henry would have gotten in trouble before his suspension has up, but somehow he stayed clean through the last few months.

According to Bengals.com, head coach Marvin Lewis said it’s an indication that “Chris is doing things correctly as far as guidelines go. That’s my interpretation of it.”

It is normal to have a stolen car found at your house.

It is normal for a Kenton County (Kentucky) Attorney [Gary Edmondson] to publicly [on WKRC-TV] say that Henry tested positive for opiates and that he will be forced to serve jail time.

Oh well, as a fan I feel terrible mentioning those things. Sadly, I didn’t have the courage to mention another thing I’ve heard about Henry, actually a couple of things. Personally, I want him to play.

All of the fans are dying to see Henry back on the playing field.

There is good news here, Henry doesn’t have to apply for reinstatement. According to Lewis and the team’s website, as long as he’s following the “guidelines”, it’s the club’s call once he serves the eight games.

The Bengals say he is following the guidelines, as far as they are concerned Henry is a saint. If I was part of the Bengals front office - I would have to agree.

BIG WILLIE OUT

In other news, the offensive tackle Willie Anderson (left) was ruled out of this Sunday’s game.

Anderson missed the entire Kansas City game and rested on numerous plays (even though no one in local media seemed to notice) in the Jets’ game.

Stacy Andrews will start in his place. Andrews is a solid backup and did a good job the last two weeks at tackle, but he is no ‘Big Willie.’

Normally, when the Bengals play the Steelers - Anderson would go up against defensive end Aaron Smith. Smith, who is a great player, is expected to miss Sunday’s game as well.

Other Steelers that didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday include Ryan Clark (abdomen), linebacker Clint Kriewaldt (shoulder), left tackle Marvel Smith (back) and wide receiver Hines Ward (knee).

For the Bengals, middle linebacker Ahmad Brooks has been ruled out for Sunday.

Dexter Jackson (hip), Rudi Johnson (hamstring) and Caleb Miller (back) didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday.