Henry rejoins Bengals, still must serve four-game ban

Before the Bengals made their offer, Henry worried that he might never play in the NFL again.

"To have that taken away from you, that can be really hard," said Henry, who has the NFL's shield tattooed on the back of his right hand. "That would have been a tough thing to go through. I kind of went through that. I was scared at one point that I wouldn't have the opportunity to be back on the field."

With Brown interested in bringing him back, Lewis talked to Henry last week, getting an idea of how he was handling his life.

"I think the last three or four months have been very humbling for Chris," Lewis said. "The week since the charges were dropped and his phone didn't ring, I think that was also humbling."

The Bengals could use another receiver now that Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson has a sprained left shoulder, suffered during a 27-10 preseason loss to Detroit on Sunday night. Johnson waved away reporters trying to get an update on his condition after practice Tuesday.

Pro Bowl receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh also missed practice because of a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the preseason games and team workouts.

Henry won't be able to practice with the team during his four-week suspension in the regular season. Once it ends, the Bengals will decide whether to add him to the team.

"Once off suspension, we'll have an opportunity to see whether or not he'd be a positive addition to the football team and go from there," Lewis said.