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According to Cincinnati Post staffer Kevin Goheen, the Bengals got a boost when Chad Johnson returned to practice on Thursday. He had been kept out of practice on Wednesday.

The Bengals were cautious in bringing him back after Johnson suffered a slight ankle twist last Friday against Indianapolis in the preseason finale.

However, all the news on the outside isn't good. ...

Fellow receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh suffered a pulled right hamstring during Wednesday's practice and will now join running back Rudi Johnson in street clothes for Sunday's game.

Both are officially listed as being out on the Bengals' weekly injury report. Houshmandzadeh's health status leaves the Bengals with just four healthy wide receivers -- Johnson, Peter Warrick and rookies Kelley Washington and Lawrence Hamilton.

Washington was already expected to see plenty of action against the Broncos but now the third-round draft choice's role will increase.

"It's been a while since I've played a game so I'm just going out there excited and anticipating a real hard game," said Washington, who hasn't been in a game that counts since last Oct. 12 when he was at the University of Tennessee playing at Georgia. That's when he suffered a neck injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. "We'll have close to a packed house, so it will be a great atmosphere to play football. Being the first game playing in the NFL, this is truly a blessing for me."

Whether or not Hamilton was going to play offensively had been in question. Now it's more a matter of how much the free agent will get on the field with the offense.

The team frequently used tight end Matt Schobel, among others, in some of its four- and five-receiver sets this preseason, so the loss of Houshmandzadeh, who caught 41 passes last season, won't be felt as much this Sunday as it will in future weeks if the injury is a prolonged one. Houshmandzadeh missed part of training camp this year with a bad hamstring.

In a related item. ...

Bengals.com staffer Geoff Hobson reports that team officials have given no indication they are going to add another receiver before the game, such as the recently-released Danny Farmer. If he is on the Opening Day roster, they would be responsible for his entire 2003 salary, and they are too tight against the salary cap to do it. Plus, they would have to cut a player they liked enough to put on their 53-man roster.

Farmer could get re-signed next week, but he also may not. The major reason he got cut is because of what Hamilton showed them on special teams.