Agent: Det, SF, Cincy express interest in Pacman

Share this: Email | Facebook | X

DETROIT (AP) - Adam "Pacman" Jones is trying hard for a 2010 comeback.

At least three teams, - the Lions, 49ers and Bengals - have expressed "great interest" in the troubled cornerback, though no signing was imminent, agent Ray Savage said Friday.

Savage said he hoped to set up in-person visits with those teams in the near future.

"Nothing's imminent, and I'm hopeful to schedule visits here in the next week or two," said Savage, whose comments came two days after Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said the Lions were "definitely interested" in signing Jones.

Schwartz said Wednesday at the NFL meetings that the Lions were gathering more information about Jones' level of commitment and how he could fit in Detroit's system.

The Lions were among a few teams that worked out Jones last week in New Orleans. Savage said Jones worked out earlier in the year for the Bengals "and we're hopeful that we'll be back in Cincinnati here in the next week. And we're trying to coordinate with San Francisco to get out there and meet with them."

In the meantime, trainer Duke Rousse is putting Jones through two-a-days in New Orleans. Rousse said Jones has put on 13 pounds - he's now at 181 - and still clocks in the sub-4.5-second range in the 40-yard dash.

"He looks awesome," Rousse said. "Physically he's ready" to play in the NFL next season, but "the big question is not his speed or what he can do on the field."

Jones once was considered a promising NFL star, but his repeated run-ins with the law have derailed his career.

The 26-year-old ex-West Virginia standout was an elite cornerback and kick returner in his first two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, where Schwartz was the defensive coordinator.

But Jones was suspended for the 2007 season by league commissioner Roger Goodell for a number of off-field incidents.

The Dallas Cowboys traded for him in 2008. Before that time, he had been arrested six times and involved in 12 episodes requiring police intervention since being drafted in the first round. He got into a scuffle with a bodyguard who was part of a team-employed security detail in October 2008 and again was suspended.

The Cowboys released Jones after the 2008 season in which he averaged only 4.5 yards per punt return and was spotty at cornerback.

He didn't play last year.

During their training sessions, Rousse said, Jones has been a model citizen, even spending time with a few dozen high schoolers who visit the training complex some afternoons.

"I have a lot of kids that came from the same background that he's come from," Rousse said. "And he basically preaches: 'Learn from your mistakes.' ... Just from a mentorship (standpoint), he's been awesome for the guys down here - all my high school athletes."

Rousse said he believes Jones won't get in trouble again if an NFL team gives him a chance.

"I think he's learned, and he's matured," he said.

---

Associated Press Writer Antonio Gonzalez contributed to this report from Orlando, Fla.