Carter’s Knee Survives Short Workout With Bengals

Ki-Jana Carter’s rebuilt knee was no problem Saturday as the running back slogged through his first Cincinnati Bengals workout since surgery. The weather was a different matter.

A thunderstorm interrupted the first day of minicamp and made the artificial turf slick, forcing players to don flat-soled shoes.

They slipped around and ran cautiously in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

Carter, a running back from Penn State who was the No. 1 draft pick in 1995 draft, carried the ball numerous times, but made no sharp cuts during the drills.

“I wish it was a dry surface when we did the team stuff so I could see really what I could have done,” Carter said.

On the first play of 11-on-11 drills, quarterback Jeff Blake handed off to Carter, who ran wide left and tried to turn upfield. Defenders forced him out of bounds and he lost his balance and slipped across a lawn that borders the field.

But he came out of the day with no setbacks, and that was the main goal. He completely tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during an exhibition last Aug. 17.

Carter’s expects to be in the lineup for the first game.