No meeting has been set up yet between the Lions and Pacman Jones to talk about the possibility of him joining the team, but after reading through his recent interview with the Detroit Free Press, I hope that a meeting happens at some point. Jones sounded like he is a changed man in the interview, and right now he is just waiting for a team to give him one more chance. Obviously the risks of bringing in someone like Jones are understood, but I hope the Lions at least schedule a meeting to further explore this possibility, because I think the reward for this risk could be big just based on the interview with the Free Press.
Martin Mayhew said after the draft that nothing has been planned in regards to a meeting with Jones, and he wouldn't say whether the former Cowboy and Titan is "in play or not." Still, Jones is hoping to stay on Jim Schwartz's mind, which is why he texted his former defensive coordinator earlier this week.
"I texted him and just told him that I’m still available, I like what they did in the draft," Jones said today in a telephone interview. "It was just a simple text message. And he was like, ‘Thanks. Keep your head up and keep the faith.’ We left it at that."
Jones usually texts Schwartz once a month in addition to talking with Deion Sanders on the phone quite a bit.
"Pac asks me a question," Sanders said. "I tell you the truth, and I give you options. ‘This is what’s going to happen if you do this. This is what’s going to happen if you do that. That’s the truth.’"
Jones called Sanders a father figure and said they talk on the phone almost five times a day.
"He’s a straight-up person," Jones said. "He’s not going to lie to you or nothing. It’s been great to have him in my corner and help me look at things a lot different than I used to in the past."
The two things that stood out to me the most from the interview were that Jones understands that he made dumb mistakes in the past and that family now appears to be his first priority.
"I don’t do the things that I used to do," Jones said. "I don’t hang out with the crowd that I used to. I’m a grown man now. I have a little girl. I have a fiancée with another baby on the way. So them days are over with, the kid days. It’s about my family now."
Ultimately a decision one way or another on Jones will come down to a variety of factors, including if the Lions feel comfortable with their situation at cornerback and if they feel that Jones deserves another chance if they meet with him. I know the cornerback position is improving with the new faces of Chris Houston, Amari Spievey, and Jonathan Wade, but I think an in-shape Pacman Jones who is looking to prove he is a different man could be a very good addition to the secondary. Not only would it create competition at cornerback, but like I said earlier, this could be a situation where the risk (giving him a "minimum-salary, incentive-laden deal," as the Free Press put it) is definitely worth the possible reward (upgrading the secondary with someone who can play at a very high level when on top of his game).