In a move that further suggests NFL owners and GMs are no longer willing to overlook character issues, the Tennessee Titans agreed in principle to a five-year deal with rookie corner Pacman Jones that, as ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli writes, will be “rife with penalty clauses” given that Jones has been arrested three times since the draft. Now facing two counts of misdemeanor assault and one of felony vandalism for the latest incident, Jones, the sixth overall selection, will probably get between $13 and $14 million in guaranteed money, which is more than I would’ve expected considering Cadillac Williams, chosen one spot ahead of Jones at #5, got just over $13 million guaranteed from Tampa Bay.
Still, props to the Titans for protecting themselves and sending this knucklehead a message. Tennessee will be able to get bonus money back from Jones if he misses time due to legal troubles, which is about the only way the Titans could justify actually signing Jones to a contract at this point. They’re still taking a risk, of course, but at least Jones is being held accountable for his past mistakes and will have to pay for any future screwups as well.
