Lewis: It's up to Palmer when he plays

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis today said when Carson Palmer finally plays is, well, up to the quarterback.

"The doctor’s telling me he’s fine and he’s ready to go," Lewis said of the fourth-year quarterback, who’s attempting to make a speedy return from reconstructive knee surgery. "But it’s up to him. There’s nothing medically, one way or another, that’s going to make a difference this week, next week, or two weeks from now. … It’s just a matter of when he expresses that to me, the desire to do that. Then we’ll go with that."

Palmer is practicing with the team this afternoon.

Several injured Bengals players returned to practice this afternoon: cornerback Deltha O'Neal (hand), wide receivers Antonio Chatman (pelvis) and Bennie Brazelle (leg) and linebackers David Pollack (hamstring) and Odell Thurman (suspension). Thurman is eligible to practice during the preseason and to play in preseason games, under terms of his four-game suspension for his second violation of the NFL substance-abuse policy.

Safety Kevin Kaesviharn is not practicing because of back spasms.