Lewis: Team healthy for Browns game

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals went back to work today in preparation for their opener Sunday at Cleveland.
Coach Marvin Lewis said this afternoon that the team is as healthy as it has been in more than a year.

This afternoon, he listed wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) and cornerback Reggie Myles (groin) as questionable.

Wide receiver Kevin Walter (concussion) would he held out for another day, Lewis said.

Looking ahead to the Browns, Lewis said he anticipated an entirely different team with Romeo Crennel as the coach.

“They’re playing hard,” Lewis said. “We have to go do our thing. It’s a little more challenging. Our guys are going to have to pay attention on the sideline.

“We’ve worked hard. I’ve pushed hard. We came through healthier than we came in.”

Lewis also said that cornerback Greg Brooks, a New Orleans native, has been excused for a couple of days to attend to personal business. Brooks had not been able to contact several family members, who include his young son, since Hurricane Katrina struck.

Declining to elaborate because of the personal nature of the situation, Lewis did say, “It’s moving in a positive way.”

Bengals players, coaches and front office personnel have created a fund but have yet to decide, Lewis said, whether to contribute directly to teammates now housing displaced relatives or to the Red Cross.

Cornerback Tory James and wide receivers Chris Henry, who said he has 11 people at his home in Florence, Ky., are two of the players with full houses.

“We’re strongly supporting our guys,” Lewis said.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com