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Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey were Cincinnati’s best running backs last year. Watson did a fine job filling in for Rudi Johnson, and Dorsey did an surprisingly good job as a change-of-pace back late in the season – really, go back and check the numbers.

But the Bengals are holding their offseason workouts, and it looks like the backs they’re really looking to this season are Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry. Those are the guys everyone is talking about.

Chick Ludwig has a story on Cincinnati’s backfield in today’s Dayton Daily News.

Geoff Hobson addess the topic at the team’s official site.

Perry has been hurt for most of his career, but he’s now healthy and in shape. Looks like he’ll play on third downs – a role that belonged to Watson last year. "He's such a threat out of the backfield,” Carson Palmer says. “I compare him to LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson running screen routes and stuff like that. You don't know what we've been missing.”

Johnson sputtered through a miserable season last year, averaging only 2.9 yards per attempt, but he showed up in terrific shape. He’s 10-15 pounds heavier, and it’s mostly muscle that he’s added to his legs.

With the depth the Bengals have at this position, they’ve put on hold the idea of potentially signing Shaun Alexander.

—Ian Allan

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