
--Chris Henry is free to pursue employment with another NFL team. The former Bengals wide receiver has been exonerated of all charges stemming from the April arrest that caused the team to waive him. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that prosecutors decided Monday, July 14, to dismiss a misdemeanor assault charge against Henry after Hamilton County Municipal Judge Richard Bernat ruled against them on several motions immediately prior to the scheduled start of Henry's second trial on the charges.
Henry is broke, his lawyer says. But he is now free to pursue a job with another team, depending, of course, what course of discipline NFL commissioner Roger Goodell might hand out.
--The end of business Tuesday was the deadline for NFL teams to sign their designated franchise players to multi-year contracts or an extension, according to league rules. Offensive lineman Stacy Andrews, the team's franchise player, had signed his one-year tender of $7.455 million before the start of the offseason strength and conditioning program in March.
Andrews now will play under the one-year tender, and it can't be extended until after the final regular-season game. The Bengals had hoped to sign Andrews to a long-term contract to reduce his salary cap number for 2008.
--Discussions are underway with representatives for first-round pick Keith Rivers, the former Southern Cal linebacker selected by the Bengals with the ninth overall pick in the April draft.
--After a wild offseason punctuated by unflattering comments in the media toward the Bengals organization, wide receiver Chad Johnson has apparently fallen back into the fold. He had a productive minicamp in June, which he had threatened to skip, and cooperated with the team to have a team doctor perform minor ankle surgery a few days later. Johnson is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I told him I was married already." -- Veteran right guard Bobby Williams, when asked about having quarterback Carson Palmer's hands on his backside during minicamp; Williams got work as a backup center behind starter Eric Ghiaciuc.
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