Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Perry's playing status with the team remains up in the air after missing nearly two seasons due to a broken and dislocated ankle. He last carried the ball in Game 11 of the 2006 season against Cleveland. Now the former first-round pick is not only battling back from injury, but could be fighting for a job.

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.

Disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, who has spent most of the offseason pushing for a trade, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle Wednesday.  While Johnson has been vocal in voicing his displeasure with the organization, he agreed to have the surgery so that he will be ready for the start of training camp on July 27. The procedure was performed by Bengals orthopedic surgeon Angelo Colosimo without any complication.

Johnson attended minicamp last week and worked out with the team Saturday, catching several passes from quarterback Carson Palmer.  Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said 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.

Despite Johnson’s continued lobbying for a trade, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis previously had said his star wideout will not be dealt.  A second-round of the Bengals in 2001, Johnson, 30, had 93 receptions for 1,440 yards and eight touchdowns last season. It was his six consecutive 1,000-yard season and the fourth time in the past five seasons he caught at least 90 balls.

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Odell Thurman was officially banned for another season of football today.  He had come into the league with such great promise and now has become maybe one of the saddest Bengals stories in the history of the franchise.  His life is in the balance.

Anyone who cannot keep themselves from self destructing and being able to pursue a dream to play in the NFL must have serious personal issues.  Thurman showed flashes of brilliance his rookie season.  He was slated by the Bengals fans to be the future of the teams defense, and the swagger the Bengals defense that the team had been missing for years.  He gave the fans something to get excited about and provided them with a light at the end of the long losing tunnel.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson has apparently ceased his demands for a trade and declared a return to the Bengals as imminent, perhaps as early as next week.

It's anyone's guess whether Chad Johnson will rip the Bengals or tear it up on the field for Cincy in '08.

"Am I coming back? Of course I am," Johnson said while standing in front of his Davie, Fla., home. He had been acting as the editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine's second annual Revenge of the Jocks issue. He made the comments on May 23.

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