Though the Bengals have received a one-game roster exemption for receiver Chris Henry, who returned this week from a four-game suspension, they might not use it.

Instead, Henry could be activated right away, which would put him on the field against the Cowboys and his former teammate at West Virginia University, Pacman Jones.

Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News (who erroneously reported last month that Henry served as a team captain for a preseason game) reports that all signs point to Henry playing against the Cowboys.

“It really just comes down to how long he’s been out and how many adjustments he needs to make,” quarterback Carson Palmer said.  “If he gets out there and he needs to adjust to the speed of the ball coming out, the speed of defenders, it’s going to take him a while.”

If Henry plays, he’ll be on the field with Jones for only the second time in their career.  Henry and Jones, who both left Morgantown after the 2004 season, have been forever linked as the poster children of the NFL’s campaign to deal with the sport’s problem children.

“That’s my boy,” Jones recently said of Henry.  “We’re best of friends.  He made some bad decisions and he has to deal with consequences, same way I did.  He manned it up and he took all the responsibilities and now he’s ready to play.”