Bengals owner Mike Brown wanted Chris Henry on his team again. Marvin Lewis wasn't interested. The man signing the paychecks won out.

Chris Henry, the oft-troubled Bengal wide receiver, was back with the team on Tuesday.

"I know at the end of the day the owner has the final say so whether or not he wants to give a guy an opportunity," Lewis said. "Mike has wanted to give Chris this opportunity, and asked we do the best job we can to prepare him and get him ready to play football, and if he can be a positive influence on this football team and help us win football games and be productive as a receiver, and get better as a receiver, and we feel that way after the suspension is over that he has a chance to win a spot. That's what he asked me to do, and that's what we're going to do."

Henry said he signed a two-year contract on Tuesday and thanked Brown personally for the opportunity.

Last month, Lewis said he wasn't interested in bringing Henry back, but Brown said he was a
"redeemer." Lewis said signing Henry, like every other move, was ultimately Brown's decision.

"Mike makes decisions with my input and so forth all the time. But every decision made in this building is ultimately his decision," Lewis said. "We talk quite a bit and you know the relationship we have. Once we make a decision, it's our decision and I'm going to be supportive of him just like he is of me. And we're going to move forward and I'm going to do the best job I can coaching this football team. And we'll see who the best 53 players are week in and week out, and our goal is to win a lot of football games. That's my task at hand, and right now Chris is going to get this opportunity and we're going to go forward."

Neither Henry nor Lewis would put a timetable on Henry's return to the practice field, but Henry said he felt he was in good enough shape to contribute soon.

Henry was suspended for the first four games of the upcoming season by the NFL for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Henry missed the first eight games of last season following a suspension from the league.

"It's pretty much my last chance to prove myself, which I plan on doing," Henry said. "Nothing is different about me since my last suspension. Since my last suspension I've been handling myself in the manner of a professional athlete. It was an unfortunate situation which happened to me this last little incident but like I said since my last suspension I’ve been doing everything right."

Henry was released by the Bengals on April 3 following his fifth arrest since the Bengals drafted him in 2005. Charges stemming from an incident days before were later dropped.

"He deserves a chance if he was found innocent he deserves a chance to pick up where he left off," Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton said. "I'm sure if he was found guilty, he wouldn't be back. If the charges were dropped, why not give him a chance? If you're found innocent in the legal system, why should you still get punished? Yes, he was in a bad place, but I'm glad he's back."

So is Henry.

Despite his obvious talent, Henry said only the Bengals talked to him about signing a contract.

"I greatly appreciate this opportunity that I have, which is being able to be back here in Cincinnati," Henry said. "I know I've made mistakes here in the past. I wish I could have the opportunity for my fans to work hard and make it back up. I want to thank the Bengals for everything and, like I said, for giving me this opportunity."

After serving an eight-game suspension at the beginning of last season, Henry caught 21 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns. However, the Bengals' top two receivers, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are currently out with injuries, but both are expected to be ready for the season-opener on Sept. 7 at Baltimore. Another receiver, third-round pick Andre Caldwell, left Sunday’s preseason game with a foot injury. The soonest Henry could help the Bengals would be Oct. 5 in Dallas, the team's fifth game of the season.

"It's obvious he can help the team, if he can stay on the field," Thornton said. "It's been off the field that's been killing him. He's probably one of the most dangerous receivers in the league and that's why he’ll get those chances. If he was a terrible receiver, it wouldn’t be like that."

In parts of three seasons with the Bengals, Henry has started 11 games, played in 35 with 88 catches for 1,370 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s provided a deep threat for Carson Palmer, who declined comment Tuesday night.

Veteran running back Rudi Johnson said he was hoping to be able to help out Henry and guide him away from trouble.

"His locker's right here beside mine now, so I can talk to him each and every day," Johnson said. "He's a good friend of mine, so I'll definitely talk to him on a day-to-day basis. Just make sure he understands everything and he's on the up-and-up and doing the things necessary to be successful on and off the field."

In the end, though, Houshmandzadeh said there's only one person who can make the best of this third, fourth, fifth, sixth, whateverth chance Henry's been given.

"He has to do it himself," Houshmandzadeh said. "He knows what he needs to do, and hopefully he'll do it."