By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kick return specialist Jermaine Lewis will visit the Bengals today, and cornerback Denard Walker will be in Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

Green Bay and Miami have expressed interest in Lewis, but indications are he may not leave town tonight without having first signed a contract with the Bengals.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis likes Jermaine Lewis' speed and proven ability as a punt and kickoff returner. The Bengals were 31st in the league in punt return average in 2002.

Lewis has six career punt returns for touchdowns and returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV for the Baltimore Ravens. Marvin Lewis was defensive coordinator of the champion Ravens.

Jermaine Lewis' most productive seasons as a wide receiver were 1997 and '98, when he had 42 and 41 receptions with six touchdown catches each year.

Marvin Lewis signed his first free agent Saturday, when former Redskins defensive lineman Carl Powell agreed to a two-year contract. Powell is a versatile player who will challenge for the starting job at left end.

Walker could fill another major need for the Bengals. A salary cap casualty in Denver, where he had just one interception in 2002, Walker would be a likely starter at cornerback in Cincinnati.

"The knock on him is the lack of interceptions," John Hamilton, Walker's agent, said Sunday. "But if you look at game film, he defends. He is not a gambler. If he gets his hands on the ball, he's going to knock it down."

Walker played his first four seasons in Tennessee and the last two in Denver.

Marvin Lewis, when he was a defensive assistant on the University of Pittsburgh staff, tried to recruit Walker to play for the Panthers.

"I didn't get him then," Lewis said Sunday night. "Maybe I'll get him this time."

Walker, a Dallas native, ended up at Louisiana State, and he was drafted by Tennessee in the third round in 1997. He had seven of his 11 career interceptions for Tennessee.

"He can play. He is in his prime," Hamilton said of Walker, who will turn 30 in August. "He wants to get back to the Super Bowl. People think Cincinnati might not be the place for that, but people didn't think Baltimore was a good place. Then they started winning."

At 6-feet-1, 190 pounds, Walker has the size to defend the league's larger receivers. In Tennessee, for example, he played almost exclusively man-to-man defense. He will visit St. Louis on Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to visit Minnesota after the Rams.

The Bengals are Walker's first visit. He is taking classes in Denver to finish his undergraduate degree in kinesiology.

The Bengals were 30th in the league last season in passing average (yards allowed per pass play) and were 28th in interceptions.

The Bengals might get additional defensive help on the line. Angelo Wright, the agent for defensive tackle Sam Adams, is believed to have sent a contract proposal to the Bengals over the weekend.

The Bengals' own unrestricted free agents continued to attract attention from other teams. Safety Cory Hall, fresh off a visit to Houston, was in Atlanta on Sunday. And fullback Nicolas Luchey was reportedly on his way Sunday to Green Bay to visit with the Packers. Re-signing Luchey might be a higher priority for the Bengals following the departure Friday of starting fullback Lorenzo Neal, who signed with San Diego.

Also on Sunday, the Bengals confirmed their acquisition of safety Brian Leigeb on waivers from the Indianapolis Colts. Leigeb, 6-2, 207, is a second-year player who appeared in 15 games for Indianapolis last season and tied for fourth in special teams tackles with 12. He also had nine tackles on defense.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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