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Source: Jim Wyatt, The Tennessean [ Full Article ]

Having a team without Pacman Jones might make things a lot easier for the Titans during the offseason.

Taking the field without him in the fall, however, would make things a lot more difficult.

"I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision, whether to keep him or let him go," said Brian DeLucia, an NFL personnel analyst for Fox Sports. "You let the guy go and you're losing a really good football player, a real playmaker. But at the same time, is all this other stuff (the Titans) have to go through worth it?''

Titans owner Bud Adams ultimately will make the final call, though the NFL also could step in and suspend the controversial cornerback for his off-the-field troubles.

If that happens, the list of players who could fill in and take Jones' place either in free agency, the draft or the current roster certainly would have a tough time matching his skills, and production from last season, however.

The free agency class lacks a marquee name after the 49ers signed Nate Clements on Friday. While the draft is deep at cornerback, it's a position where rookies usually have a tough time making an immediate impact.

Jones' future is in question because of his alleged involvement in two more off-the-field incidents. Detectives in Las Vegas continue to investigate a triple shooting Feb. 19 after which the club co-owner accused Jones of being a friend of the shooter. Jones is also due in court in Georgia later this month on a felony charge of obstruction of police.

Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt hasn't addressed Jones' status since Feb. 23, when he admitted there's at least a chance Jones won't be on the roster this fall.

"With Adam Jones, we'll continue to monitor that and it may impact what we do (at the position),'' he said.

Other alternatives

Clements, who played with the Bills last season, reached an $80 million deal with the 49ers. Many regarded him as not only the best free agent cornerback, but also the best player available in free agency. The Titans were not in the mix for Clements because of his cost.

The list of veterans available includes Indianapolis' Nick Harper, St. Louis' Travis Fisher, Arizona's David Macklin and Washington's Kenny Wright.

"Nick Harper is a guy that could help you short term, and some others have played elsewhere, but a lot of them have limitations,'' DeLucia said. "There's not another guy like Clements out there, that's for sure.''

The NFL Draft provides more hope, and it's where the Titans regularly have gone after cornerbacks in the past. In the past six drafts, the Titans have selected at least one cornerback each year, and nine total in the past six years.

They've picked a cornerback first in three of the six years Jones (2005), Andre Woolfolk ('03) and Andre Dyson ('01).

"I think this is an excellent year for cornerbacks,'' said Russ Lande, president and founder of GM Jr., an annual draft guide, and a former scout with the Cleveland Browns.

"I don't know if the Titans could get a guy that could come in right away and be as good as Pacman was becoming at the end of last year, but there's no doubt there are some good corners this year. And it's not a draft where if you don't get one in the first round you are not going to get a good one.''

Michigan's Leon Hall is considered the cream of the draft crop, though players like Aaron Ross of Texas, Daymeion Hughes (California) and Tanard Jackson (Syracuse) are highly regarded, among others.

The Titans have had their best success picking cornerbacks in the later rounds. Reynaldo Hill and Cortland Finnegan, the team's other top cornerbacks last season, were both seventh round picks, in '05 and '06 respectively. Woolfolk was reduced to a special teams contributor most of last season.

At the NFL Combine, Titans scout Blake Beddingfield said this year's draft class at cornerback "lacks that dynamic player that a lot of classes have'' but it has "good players that fit a certain type of system.''

"It lacks that dynamic player that's always been drafted in the top five, the top 10 of the first round," Beddingfield said. "But the depth at the corner position seems to always be there. There are always going to be a couple of good fourth, fifth, sixth rounders that might end up making your team and playing for you."

A tough decision

Jones was second on the Titans with four interceptions in 2006, and he also led the NFL in punt return average. He returned three punts for scores.

It would cost them roughly $5.4 million to release Jones.

"Some guys get in trouble early in their careers; they get arrested once or twice and learn their lesson. But it seems the only way a guy like that is going to learn is by getting cut and losing some money and facing a big wake-up call. The team saying, "You really need to wise up or we're going to cut you.' That is obviously not working," Lande said.

"There's a lot of young talent on that team including Vince Young. If I'm the Titans, I say, 'Why screw around with a guy like (Pacman) when you can build a foundation around some good people?' Is Pacman Jones a good player? No question. But to me, it is not even worth wasting their time."

Jones returning as a member of another team might be enough to scare a team, and keep them from cutting him loose. But other things must also be considered, he said.

"Pacman Jones is a tremendous football player, and he's really starting to develop," DeLucia said. "From everything I've heard he improved his work ethic last year, and seems like he wants to be a good pro. You hate to throw someone on the street and not help them, too.

"But so many things off the field don't seem to be changing about him, and you can't have someone representing your organization like he has. Who knows what is going to happen next time?"