By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

Bengals cornerback Deltha O'Neal was happy to get out of Denver in the offseason.

In training camp, O'Neal was so grateful to be with the Bengals that he appeared ready to kiss the ground at the team's Georgetown College site.

The Broncos traded O'Neal, a Pro Bowl cornerback in 2001, to the Bengals on April 9. The Bengals swapped their No. 17 overall draft pick for Denver's 24th and 117th (fourth round).

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan had moved O'Neal to wide receiver late in the season.

"We were trying to move up in the draft. We had two guys targeted (including eventual pick D.J. Williams, a linebacker who leads the club with 39 tackles) and we didn't think we could get either one with the 24th pick," Shanahan said Wednesday.

O'Neal made six starts at cornerback before the move to offense. He also led the team with a 9.5-yard average on 33 punt returns.

"There was one or two games there where he had lost some confidence (on defense)," Shanahan said. "I saw him catching the ball one day, and I thought since he wasn't going to be one of the two top corners and was such a great athlete, I wanted to take a look at him at a wide receiver position."

O'Neal played in two games offensively with two receptions.

"He's got such quickness and great hands, I wanted to take a look at him for an extended period," Shanahan said. "But he loved the defensive back position, so therefore it was just a one-week or two-week experiment."

O'Neal has played well in four starts, coach Marvin Lewis said, though O'Neal was beat for a 99-yard touchdown reception by Andre Davis in Cleveland on Sunday.

INJURY UPDATE: Bengals wide receiver Peter Warrick (shin) was listed as doubtful Wednesday for the Monday night game. He did not practice. Cornerback Rashad Bauman (Achilles) also was doubtful.

None of the players on the injury report practiced Wednesday.

The Bengals players listed as probable were defensive linemen Duane Clemons (chest) and Carl Powell (knee), linebackers Marcus Wilkins (neck) and Landon Johnson (concussion) and cornerback Terrell Roberts (illness).

Safety Rogers Beckett (concussion) is the only Bengal listed as out.

BRIGHT LIGHTS: While the Bengals have played 23 times on Monday night, the Denver Broncos have been on 51 times. They have a 22-28-1 record on Monday night and will be appearing this week for the 13th consecutive season.

Denver is 5-20 away from home on Monday night.

The Bengals have not played on Monday night for 12 seasons, last playing in 1992.

CHAD CHAT: Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson participated in an online chat Wednesday at Cincinnati.Com and said he expected to be covered one on one Monday by cornerback Champ Bailey.

Johnson also said he didn't worry about Bengals fans "jumping ship" after the team's 1-4 start.

"The real Cincinnati fans will be with us, regardless of whether we're losing or not," he said. "And the real Chad Johnson fans would not complain about one bad game in the last two years, either. I'm not perfect."

Johnson was held to three receptions for 37 yards against Cleveland on Sunday and had three drops.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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