Bengals won’t make “rash, harsh or fast” decision on Adam Jones’ future

One of the biggest stories of the Bengals’ offseason has been Adam Jones’ January arrest, and none of it’s been good.

Jones’ latest offseason transgression has put him in position to be cut if the Bengals feel that’s in their best interest. However, the team has not yet reached that conclusion, though that’s not to say the decision won’t be made eventually.

That’s essentially what Duke Tobin said on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he met with the media to discuss his team, the draft, and provide an update on Jones’ status with the team. That won’t be determined until the team feels everything has been discovered and that it can make a clear decision, not one that is rushed or done out of emotion.

Tobin and the Bengals want to make the best decision possible, and they’ll take their time to reach that point.

"I’m not going to condone what he did," Tobin said via Bengals.com. "But whether there was something criminal or not is to be determined by the criminal justice system. We’re going to let that work, and if there’s an NFL penalty that will be determined by the league, we’ll let that work, and we’re not going to make any rash, harsh or fast decisions about the future of our team without all the information."

Tobin made it seem like arrest or not, Jones needs to prove he’s worthy of a spot on the Bengals’ roster.

"His status on our team is like a lot of players’ status on our team. He has to earn his way like everyone does. Where this goes, I cannot predict. But we’re certainly not going to make a decision on him without more information."

One would think all of the information the Bengals could want to have is out there by now, but perhaps there’s still a few things they want resolved before making such a big decision. With Dre Kirkpatrick set to become a free agent, the Bengals could end up losing both of their starting corners if they cut Jones, something the team can ill-afford to let happen.

But regardless of how painful it would be to lose Jones and Kirkpatrick in one offseason, one would think the Bengals still cannot keep Jones after what he did in addition to all of his previous transgressions.

Tobin was clearly disappointed with the whole ordeal, partly because he thinks the incident is not a reflection of the man Adam Jones is now.

"It was disappointing. It was disappointing for us to see him display what he displayed," Tobin said. "It is a poor reflection of him, and it’s not indicative of who he is in our opinion. I think Adam is better is that."

Tobin can ‘think’ all he wants, but we all know this can’t go on. Jones has been given far too many chances to be a better man, and he’s once again made a fool of himself and the Bengals.

Jones is due back in court later this week and has reportedly been undergoing alcohol and anger management.