Chad Johnson practices with Bengals

Chad Johnson practices with Bengals

The last day of minicamp marked the first action for disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson on Saturday.

Johnson, who has spent much of the offseason voicing his displeasure with the organization and pushing for a trade, saw his first full action of the minicamp, catching several passes from quarterback Carson Palmer.

“He worked hard; he was rusty,” offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said of Johnson. “(The defensive backs) are playing hands-on and a very physical style of defense. If you haven’t been working and preparing against that, it takes you a while to get back used to it.”

Bratkowski added that Johnson seemed to be hindered by an ongoing ankle problem, which the team said bothered him at the end of last season. Johnson complained about soreness in the ankle on the first day of camp Thursday.

“He’s got that ankle issue at the end of the season. They were trying to get it taken care of, it hadn’t been taken care of, he needed to get it taken care of,” Bratkowski said. “He’s going against guys that have been out here 14, 16 practices. You’re going to look that way when you have none. He worked hard.”

The team wants Johnson to have arthroscopic surgery on the ankle so he can be ready for training camp on July 27. Despite Johnson’s continued lobbying for a trade, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis previous had said his star wideout will not be dealt.

Johnson declined to speak with the media but did sign autographs for fans and said, “Cincinnati, I love you. Vote for Obama,” in a show of support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

To post a comment, you need to login or sign up.	Fan Comments