By Kevin Kelly
Enquirer staff writer

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - With his left arm cradled in a sling, Bengals punter Kyle Richardson paced the sideline during practice Wednesday evening.

Richardson, who punted in the Bengals' final 11 games last season, suffered a torn biceps during Monday's preseason opener against the Buccaneers. He said he is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday in Cincinnati.

"I just want to get this fixed, have a good surgery and look to getting back and helping this team," Richardson said. "Obviously, I'm disappointed. I felt pretty good going in and have worked pretty hard during the off-season."

With Richardson out for an undetermined amount of time, rookie Kyle Larson and second-year pro Eddie Johnson are vying for the starting job.

"It's a good opportunity to get a look at those two guys," Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said. "The stakes have kind of been raised for those two.

"Nothing has changed as far as their preparation. They were in competition to win the starting job in the first place."

Larson punted one time Monday for 43 yards, and averaged 45.1 yards for Nebraska last season.

The Bengals acquired Johnson off waivers from the Vikings July 26.

Johnson handled 56 of Minnesota's 63 punts last season and averaged 39.1 yards per punt.

"Basically how I feel is nothing has changed for me," Johnson said. "I'm just trying to get better and get all the stuff prepared for these games coming up. My focus is totally on working on my technique, getting back in the groove again and hitting good balls."

ROSTER REDUCTION: The Bengals trimmed their roster to 80 on Wednesday by releasing running back Skip Hicks and rookie free agent wide receiver Jay Chapman.

"We've got to cut guys as we go along," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said, "and maybe this gives Skip an opportunity to catch on with someone else."

Hicks, who signed with the Bengals as a free agent in January, carried five times for 10 yards against the Buccachrneers on Monday. The 29-year-old led NFL Europe with 661 rushing yards on 183 carries and 10 touchdowns this past season.

Chapman, who played at Saint Augustine's College in North Carolina, played in Monday's exhibition but did not catch a pass.

The Bengals must cut their roster to 65 players by 4 p.m. on Aug. 31.

ON THE LINE: Starting offensive guard Eric Steinbach participated in contact drills Wednesday, and hopes to play against the Patriots on Saturday.

The second-year pro had surgery in July to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.

"I'm making some progress," Steinbach said. "We'll see how I feel in the morning. If it's swollen, I'll know I pushed it too hard. If it's not then I'm going to keep going."

RUN TO CONTACT: His Bengals debut Monday did not go as well as he hoped, but Chris Perry was certainly happy to get that first pro hit out of the way.

"It was needed," the rookie running back said. "I haven't been hit since January."

Perry fumbled on his first carry against the Buccaneers, but finished with 22 yards rushing on five carries.

"It got knocked out when I was going down," he said. "That's from a lack of contact."

E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com

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