By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A trimmer, fitter Bengals team wrapped up its on-field, offseason work Wednesday afternoon.

The two minicamp practices were the last mandatory exercises of the spring, and now the trick for the players is not to lose ground.

"We talked a lot about sustaining what we've done, in every way, every day," coach Marvin Lewis said after his third minicamp.

All Bengals players will receive a packet from the strength and conditioning coaches that lists drills and exercises specific to their position.

"That gives them a chance to get out and work on football, even if they're by themselves," Lewis said of the break. Training camp will open July 27.

Two weeks of weightlifting and running remain in the program, but Lewis said he expects attendance to dip before picking up at the end.

"The guys have done a great job," Lewis said.

TURNOVER: The Bengals continue to add and subtract players.

They acquired free safety Rogers Beckett from San Diego. The Bengals will pick up his $530,000 salary.

"We hope to get a look at him and see if he's good enough to make our football team," Lewis said of Beckett, 26, a fourth-year player who was the Chargers' second-round pick in 2000. He played in all of San Diego's 48 games the past three seasons, with 29 starts.

Beckett, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, has two career interceptions.

The Bengals also signed safety Deloise Moore, a college free agent from Troy State.

The team released free safety Stephon Kelly, a second-year player from Winston-Salem State who spent all of 2002 on injured reserve.

"The roster rotation is not done," Lewis said. "We're always trying to upgrade our 53 players we'll finish with and the 81, 82, 83 players we'll take to training camp."

BRING IT ON: Tailback Corey Dillon is ready for the regular-season opener against Denver.

"I'm a boss entertainer, and if you guys don't know the definition of a boss entertainer, then watch me on Sept. 7 and catch me every Sunday," said Dillon, who has bulked up in the chest and shoulders while adding just 3 pounds to his 2002 playing weight of 227.

He also said he is 100 percent behind Lewis.

"Whatever he wants me to do, be it downhill, smash-mouth, kill-anything-in-sight, man, I'm with him," Dillon said. "If that's the case, there's only one man for the job, and you're talking to him. That fits me to the T."

Lewis liked what he saw from Dillon in offseason workouts.

"He did not drop a pass this spring. It was one thing he and I talked about for him to continue to concentrate more on," Lewis said. "He has great ability. We're counting on him to do it, and we don't want to waste those opportunities."

Dillon will be featured in an hour-long Beyond the Glory documentary on Fox Sports Net that premieres at 8 p.m. June 29.

CRANK IT UP: Music returned to the Bengals locker room Wednesday for the first time since September 2000, when then-rookie coach Dick LeBeau went unplugged.

"It's something the guys have been asking about, and I didn't have an opinion one way or another," Lewis said. "As long as they handle it the right way and can agree to agree, we're OK. We want you to like being here."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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