Trainer: Palmer ahead of schedule

Carson Palmer is ahead of schedule in his rehab from major knee surgery, a "model patient" and has only experienced "minor bumps in the road," Bengals trainer Paul Sparling said this morning before the team took the field for its first minicamp practice. Sparling said the coaches, trainers and front office remain "cautiously optmistic" that Palmer would be able to play in the opener Sept. 10 at Kansas City. "He comes into the training room and asks, `What's next?'" Sparling said of Palmer's attitude in rehab. "We've never had to push him, not once. He tells us what's bothering him, what's sore." Palmer has worked on dropbacks, thrown and shuffled over ground pads to improve his agility. Sparling also said wide receiver Chris Henry (knee sprain) and running back Chris Perry (knee surgery in April) were not cleared for minicamp.