Adam "Pacman" Jones to the Cincinatti Bengals?

Adam Jones was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. There was no denying his skills on the football field as he excelled in his first two seasons as both a corner and return specialist. However, off the field, he had several encounters with the wrong side of the law.

On Apr. 10, 2007, commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones indefinitely. Luckily for him, he was given a second chance when the Dallas Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for him in 2008. 

Now, after being released by the Cowboys, he has been reported to have worked out with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday (Feb. 11).

The question now is whether or not this is the right decision for the Bengals to give the troubled man yet another opportunity. 

The Bengals were 10-6 last season and made the playoffs for only the second time in the past 19 seasons. They have a lot of good talent on the roster and are headed in the right direction. 

The Bengals like to play a lot of man-to-man coverage, which means they rely heavily on the play of their cornerbacks. They are solid at that position with former first round selections Jonathon Joseph and Leon Hall, so it seems unlikely that, if they were to sign Jones, he would claim a starting role. Instead, Jones would probably be their nickel corner and bring a boost to their return game, which managed to only score one TD the entire season. 

In my mind, yes, there is some upside in signing Jones. However, I don't think it is worth the risk.

Yes, Jones is still young. However, Jones isn't as good as he once was in his early career, and it is obvious that he has lost some of the explosiveness that made him such an electrifying player.

In addition, in 2006-2007, the Bengals were infamous for having 13 of their players arrested. It has seemed that the franchise has buckled down and Marvin Lewis has installed more discipline. The team was able to resurrect the careers of Terry "Tank" Johnson and Cedric Benson after they were cut by their original teams. However, neither of those players have had the same degree of severity in their off-the-field issues as Jones does. In order to maintain discipline within their team, they need to refrain from bringing in any distractions, which means Jones shouldn't be brought aboard.

To me, it seems that Jones simply doesn't understand how to carry himself with proper conduct. People like him don't deserve to be professional athletes. He is a terrible influence for the millions of fans that look up to him, and if the Bengals are smart, they wouldn't sign him.