Bengals receiver Chris Henry has kept his name out of the headlines for an extended period of time.
And that in itself is worthy of a headline.
Once the poster child of the NFL’s problem children, Henry has made the most of his umpteenth chance, staying out of trouble and setting his sights on reaching his potential.
As Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News points out, Henry is entering the final year of a two-year deal, which gives him extra motivation to make an impact in a positive way.
“It’s going to be a big year for me,” Henry recently said. “I’ve been working hard. I feel like I’m at my best right now, and I’m going to do everything I can to help the team get to where we’re trying to get.”
Though we wonder whether Henry realizes that, if there’s no new Collective Bargaining Agreement by March 2010, the Bengals would be able to squat on his rights by making him a restricted free agent, even the highest possible RFA tender would be more money than he has earned in any season since entering the league as a third-round draft pick in 2005.
He’s due to earn a base salary of $620,000 in 2009.
Henry’s best season came in 2006, with 36 receptions for 605 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2007, the league imposed an eight-game suspension based on a string of arrests that prompted one judge to call him a “one man crime wave.”
