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Posted at 12:48 p.m., Thursday, November 1, 2007

NFL: Suspended Pacman to meet with commissioner

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Suspended cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York on Friday about a possible early reinstatement.

Goodell suspended the Tennessee cornerback in April for the 2007 season and promised Jones' case could be reviewed after the Titans' 10th game, which is Nov. 19 in Denver. But Friday's meeting will come two days before the Titans' eighth game.

The NFL declined to comment. Neither of Jones' two attorneys, Manny Arora of Atlanta, nor Worrick Robinson of Nashville, immediately answered messages left by The Associated Press.

The meeting first was reported by The Tennessean.

The Titans will not have a representative at the meeting, and Jones will be accompanied by someone from the NFL Players Association.

Goodell suspended Jones in April for violating the league's personal conduct policy. At the time, Jones had been arrested five times since being drafted by the Titans with the sixth pick overall in 2005. He was arrested a sixth time in June on charges from a Las Vegas strip club fight.

The cornerback told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in October he thought he had done enough to be reinstated early.

"I did pretty much everything Mr. Goodell asked me to do. So all I can do is just wait and go back to speak with him," Jones said.

Jones is the only NFL player suspended for an entire season under the personal conduct policy, and the Titans were under the impression he would not return this year. They drafted Michael Griffin among other moves to replace Jones on the roster.

Coach Jeff Fisher was asked last week about the possibility of Jones returning early from his suspension.

"That's not been discussed," Fisher said then. "Pac is suspended for the year, and that's the approach we're taking."

The Titans declined to comment on the meeting Thursday.

Goodell said in August he told Jones and others they had to earn their way back into the NFL with their conduct.

"I was disappointed with some of the activities that Pacman got involved this spring, after we had met and had a lot of discussions," Goodell said at the time.

Jones still faces two felony counts of coercion in Las Vegas stemming from a strip club fight and triple shooting that left a man paralyzed. The gunman has not been identified, and a preliminary hearing has been postponed, with a status hearing scheduled for Nov. 27.

He also has been sued by the three people who were wounded, including the man paralyzed who also named the NFL and the Titans in his lawsuit.

A felony charge of obstruction in Georgia from a February 2006 incident recently was postponed again.

Jones also has been busy working with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he won the Nashville-based company's tag team title despite a legal agreement sought by the Titans to limit any risk of injury.

Goodell recently allowed defensive tackle Tank Johnson to practice for three weeks before his suspension ends, while Cincinnati receiver Chris Henry, who was suspended the same day as Jones in April, returned to practice Oct. 24 with two games left to sit out.