DaytonDailyNews.com

CINCINNATI — Bengals left offensive tackle Levi Jones practiced in full gear on Tuesday, marking his first workout with the team this preseason.

Fullback Jeremi Johnson also practiced for the second straight day and said he expects to play in Atlanta on Monday night.

But the news of the day was Chris Perry.

The fourth-year tailback, who sustained a fractured right ankle at Cleveland on Nov. 26, 2006, has been rehabbing at Emory University in Atlanta. But he returned to Cincinnati for a checkup, optimistic he can return and contribute this year.

Perry said his rehab is "ongoing" and "it's going well. My hope is to be back when I'm healthy."

Will he come back as good as new?

"I'm positive of it," he said. "It's just going to take time. How long? I don't know. I'll try to get healthy. I'm doing all right. That's about as much as they'd probably want me to say. I don't think they want to hear too much from me right now."

Perry will begin the 2007 just like he began the 2006 season — on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, meaning he'll be sidelined the first six weeks (five games) of the regular season.

After that, Perry will begin a three-week practice stint on a roster exemption. At the end of that three-week window, the team will be forced to make one of three moves — activate him to the 53-man roster; place him on Injured Reserve, ending his season; or release him.

"You can't put a measure on how frustrating it is," Perry said. "Never been hurt in college (at Michigan) and come here and it seems like the only thing I can do is I get hurt."

In other news, the Bengals on Tuesday placed outside linebacker Eric Henderson on the Injured Reserve list, ending his season. Henderson suffered a right wrist fracture in Saturday's home preseason game against New Orleans.

More evidence that Ed Hartwell will soon take over as the starting middle linebacker surfaced when Hartwell told reporters the coaches gave him the go-ahead to beef his weight up to between 240 and 245 pounds.

Hartwell entered training camp at 235 as the backup weakside linebacker behind Landon Johnson.

"They (the coaches) wanted me to learn outside first," he said. "I've been playing inside all my life, so I think I'm a way better inside linebacker than outside. I feel like I'm one of the best middle linebackers in the league."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com.