Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones reportedly had felony charges against him dropped Tuesday in reference to an incident in which he spit on a jailhouse nurse in January.
ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reported Jones will still be charged with misdemeanors stemming from that incident, however, and that he will plead not guilty to them.
“Felony charges of harassment with a bodily substance against Bengals CB Adam Jones have been dropped, according to Cincinnati prosecutor Joe Deters. Jones still has pending misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business pending. He will plead not guilty according to his attorney.”
The Bengals haven’t made any move at this point to discipline Jones or release him. They have stated that they will take their time and let the process play out (more on that here). The NFL has yet to make any decision, either, and typically does let the process conclude in matters like this before doing so.
Jones is set to earn $5.3 million in base salary this upcoming NFL season and count $6.7 million against the cap, though only $666,668 of that would be on the books should the Bengals choose to release him.