Chris Henry's Signing Is Surely a Joke, Right?

OK, I am going to play Harvey Dent on this topic; that’s right, I have two faces.

On one side...REALLY?? 

You just signed the guy you released in April of this 2008 because he could not keep himself out of trouble. Could not! Refused! How on God’s green earth can you not just stop being a hoodlum?

You have millions of dollars on the table, but you feel you have to punch an 18-year-old kid because he OWES YOU MONEY??? 

That was the final straw, allegedly, for the Bengals, and they kicked him to the curb. At the time of the release, President Mike Brown said, “Chris Henry has forfeited his opportunity to pursue a career with the Bengals. His conduct can no longer be tolerated.”

It looks like they are ready to tolerate it now. The Bengals reached a contract agreement with the same Chris Henry (not the running back who plays with the Titans) they basically disowned four short months ago. 

Sure, their wide receivers are in shambles, with Chad Johnson looking at missing some time with a shoulder injury and T.J. Houshmandzadeh missing a lot of practice time with a bum hamstring.

But Henry faces a four-game suspension to begin the season! Chad’s shoulder isn’t that bad, and he should be back to full strength by then. T.J. will be 100 percent by then. So what is the point??

Sure, the guy is massively talented. This cannot be understated. But everyone knew this when he left West Virginia early for the NFL Draft. He still fell to the third round, despite having first-round talent. Why? Because he wasn’t reliable.

Has he disproved that in ANY WAY???

I know it’s not good journalism to use caps lock or use multiple punctuation marks, but WTF???

Then again, if Adam Jones is likely to be reinstated and be playing for the Cowboys, along with Tank Johnson (by the way, why aren’t they both in jail?), I guess I can understand Henry getting another shot.

But coming back to the same team he let down? Ludicrous. The Bengals are not only enabling this kind of conduct, they are damn near encouraging it. And that makes me weep for the NFL. I think Roger Goodell needs to have a long talk with their management. Again.

You know what, screw the other side. There is no justification for this kind of behavior. I’m out of sympathy for this team. And damn them for not turning Peter Warrick into a star.