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Bengals in a bind after Adam Jones' latest arrest

CINCINNATI -- The arrest of Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones has likely thrown a wrench into the team’s offseason plans.

Jones faces several charges after being arrested in Cincinnati on Tuesday morning, including misdemeanor charges for assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business, as well as a felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance. The felony charge stems from spitting on the hand of a nurse while being booked at Hamilton County Justice Center, according to jail documents. Jones, who is still in jail until a blood test can be completed, has a court date set for Jan. 13, according to inmate booking records for the Hamilton County Sheriff's office.

Jones "vehemently" denied all charges via a public defender, and the Bengals likely will wait for Jones' case to play out in the legal system. But it’s the NFL’s response that likely concerns them.

The NFL had no immediate response other than to say the incident was being reviewed under its personal conduct policy.

The policy states: "It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime. Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the League is based, and is lawful. Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime."

That means Jones could still face trouble with the league, even if he’s not in trouble with the law.

Jones will be 34 when the 2017 season begins, with two years remaining on a contract extension signed in 2016. If the Bengals part ways with him, they would save $6.3 million against the cap.

If they keep him and Jones is suspended for any amount of time, the Bengals need a backup plan. They like 2016 first-round pick William Jackson III, but he got hurt and hasn’t played a snap this season -- not exactly ideal if they have to go into the season with him as a starter at cornerback. 2014 first-round pick Darqueze Dennard hasn’t proved himself to be starting material in three seasons.

That leaves cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who is scheduled to become a free agent. Keeping him becomes more important if Jones misses any time -- and certainly if he is cut -- and that means the Bengals will have to pay Kirkpatrick accordingly.

Kirkpatrick, 27, is in the prime of his career and should command a decent showing on the market.

What would the Bengals cornerback situation be like without Kirkpatrick?

Jones didn't seem too enthused when asked that question on Monday morning.

"I plead the fifth," Jones told reporters several times Monday morning before walking away.

If the Bengals cannot work out an extension with Kirkpatrick, they could place the franchise tag on him, for a hefty price. Last season, a nonexclusive franchise tag cost $13.9 million to place on a cornerback. The Bengals also have guard Kevin Zeitler and left tackle Andrew Whitworth to consider. If they re-sign Whitworth, it would likely be a short-term deal that would also come with a big cap number.

This will be a tricky situation for both the team and the league. Jones' troubled past isn’t going to do him any favors when the NFL reviews the incident.

Jones has found himself in the NFL’s crosshairs before. He has been involved in several legal incidents and was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the entire 2007 season for off-the-field conduct related to a shooting incident in a Las Vegas nightclub earlier that year.

A man was left paralyzed after being shot by a gunman who claimed he was acting on Jones' orders. Jones was charged with felony coercion for his alleged role in the shooting. In December 2007, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct, which resulted in probation for a year plus 200 hours of community service.

In 2012, Jones was ordered to pay $11 million to two of the nightclub employees who were wounded in the incident.

Jones also was acquitted in 2013 on an assault charge after a woman accused him of punching her outside a nightclub. He was not punished by the league.

The NFL could take those matters into account when reviewing Jones' situation. However, though he does have a troubled past, he has remained mostly out of the spotlight the past few years.

Jones has made strides to shed his "Pacman" nickname, which was given to him by his mother as a baby but became associated with the negative label he earned in his first few years in the league.

Jones has never quite shed that moniker, even though he's stayed out of trouble since the 2013 incident.

He's a husband and father now, in addition to a solid starter in the Bengals' secondary. He was voted a team captain by his teammates this year for the first time.

For three years, he has quietly spent his own money to buy bikes for elementary students for Christmas so they can have something he didn’t have at that age.

In fact, Jones' biggest transgression this season was exasperating defensive coordinator Paul Guenther by calling Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor "garbage" in a postgame interview. Guenther told Jones he was too old to be saying those kinds of things and he needed to grow up.

However, Jones also contributed to a team meltdown after the 2015 season in the wild-card round of the playoffs. He was being flagged for a personal foul for arguing with Steelers assistant Joey Porter.

With Jones, it has long been a situation of taking the good with the bad. Pro Football Focus ranked him 42nd among cornerbacks this season, and he has reached an age when most cornerbacks decline.

The Bengals are known for their loyalty, and they were one of the few teams to give Jones a chance in 2010 when teams were reluctant to deal with his off-field troubles.

But the Bengals also were loyal to kicker Mike Nugent, and it might have cost them at least one game; the veteran missed six extra points and six field goals this season. Now the front office faces another decision with a veteran who has been a valuable member of the organization.

Should the Bengals stay with Jones and deal with a possible suspension and a potential decline in production? Or is it time to part ways?