Sources: Dallas Cowboys consider Pacman Jones
Team has had internal talks about suspended cornerback
02:10 AM CST on Saturday, March 8, 2008
By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News
cwatkins@dallasnews.com
The wow factor that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was talking about adding to his team could be Adam "Pacman" Jones.
According to multiple sources, the Cowboys have had internal discussions about obtaining the suspended Tennessee cornerback if he's reinstated by the NFL.
Jones has been suspended since April 2007 for violations of the NFL conduct policy.
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Jones is considered one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, and that alone has made the Cowboys think about bringing him to Dallas, according to the sources.
There would be numerous obstacles, starting with the suspension.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said commissioner Roger Goodell will review Jones' case before training camps start in July.
And should Jones be reinstated, the Cowboys would have to work out a trade with the Titans.
But the Titans could also release Jones, putting him on the open market.
Jones' Atlanta-based attorney, Manny Arora, did not return a phone call seeking comment, but he told The (Nashville) Tennessean he planned to ask Goodell to re-examine Jones' suspension before the April 26-27 NFL draft.
On Thursday, Jones again said he wants to play for the Cowboys, on an Atlanta radio station.
"I just have to do what I have to do to get back on the field," he said. "Hopefully it won't be long, and hopefully it will be a couple of more months. I would love to play for the Cowboys, America's Team."
If the Cowboys acquire Jones, he would join Pro Bowl cornerback Terence Newman and Anthony Henry, who led the team with six interceptions in 2007. Jones would also be a leading candidate to return punts.
In 2006, he averaged 12.9 yards per return with three touchdowns.
The Cowboys have signed players with troubled pasts before. The team signed nose tackle Tank Johnson last season after he served a suspension for violations of the NFL conduct policy. Johnson maintained a good relationship with Goodell during his suspension, and the Cowboys touted their off-field player programs headed by director Bryan Wansley and consultants Calvin Hill and Jacqualene Stephens.
Pacman Jones (left) and Terrell Owens embraced after a Cowboys-Titans game in 2006.
DMN file
Pacman Jones (left) and Terrell Owens embraced after a Cowboys-Titans game in 2006.
Since he was drafted by Tennessee in the first round of the 2005 draft, Jones has been arrested six times.
Last month, he entered a guilty plea on charges of felony obstruction of officers stemming from an incident in Georgia.
Jones said he's made some bad decisions.
"It is not always that trouble seems to find me," he told the radio station. "I am learning how to adjust to it, and I am bettering myself as a person."