Pacman Jones reinstated, cleared to play for Cowboys

IRVING, Texas -- Now that Adam "Pacman" Jones is really back in the NFL, he insists he will try to do everything he can to stay there.

The cornerback-kick returner was fully reinstated Thursday from his 17-month NFL suspension, which followed an accumulation of arrests and legal problems, and is clear to play for the Dallas Cowboys during the regular season.

"I am fully a Dallas Cowboy," Jones proclaimed before the last preseason game. "I don't have it lingering over my head, will he get reinstated, will he not get reinstated. I just have to keep myself out of bad situations like I have been doing the last six or seven months."

Since being cleared almost three months ago by commissioner Roger Goodell to practice with the Cowboys, Jones had repeatedly expressed confidence that he would be reinstated for the season and said he was doing everything expected of him.

Still, there was a sense of relief when he finally received the official news -- in a phone call while walking in a parking lot.

"I did scream," Jones said. "Immediately I called my mom, because I've been beating myself up, but my mom has been through this roller-coaster with me."

Jones, acquired by Dallas from Tennessee, has been arrested six times and involved in a dozen incidents requiring police intervention since the Titans drafted him in the first round in 2005. That includes his connection to a shooting at a Las Vegas strip club. His last NFL game was Dec. 31, 2006.

Jones was suspended in April 2007 and missed all last season with the Titans. He was traded to Dallas in April, then allowed in June by Goodell to join the team in training camp and preseason games.

Goodell, however, was still waiting to decide whether to let Jones play in the regular season. That news came hours before Dallas' final preseason game.

"Adam has worked hard to get to this point, but he also knows that there is still a lot of work ahead of him," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "He is fully aware of the opportunity that he has been given, and he knows that this is an ongoing process."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail that Goodell wouldn't have a comment Thursday regarding the reinstatement.

Jones said he spoke to Aiello, but not the commissioner. The cornerback said he got congratulatory text messages from most of his teammates once word of his reinstatement spread.

There are past mistakes that Jones knows he can't repeat, especially off the field.