Bengals place Adam 'Pacman' Jones on IR

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KATHERINE TERRELL via <a href="http://espn.go.com/" title="ESPN" class="espn_sc_byline">ESPN </a>
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December 9, 2017, 12:55 PM ET
3 min read

— -- CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals have placed cornerback Adam Jones on injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.

Jones injured his groin while making an interception against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Monday night. He will end his season with nine starts, one interception and four pass deflections. Jones was also one of the team's kick returners and had a punt return for a touchdown that was called back due to a penalty earlier in the season.

Jones will be replaced by second-year cornerback William Jackson III, the Bengals' first-round pick in 2016.

It has been a tumultuous year for Jones, who was arrested on Jan. 3, the first day of the Bengals' 2017 offseason, for allegedly pushing a security guard and failing to comply with law enforcement.

A video from the back of a cop car showed Jones going on a tirade against the arresting officer and telling him "I hope you die tomorrow." Jones was suspended by the NFL for the Bengals' season opener after the incident.

He was charged with misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business, along with a felony charge of harassment with a bodily substance for spitting on the hand of a nurse while being booked into injury.

The prosecutor declined to pursue the felony charge and all other charges were dropped except obstructing official business, to which Jones pleaded guilty.

Jones, 34, has been with the Bengals since 2010, but this could be the final season for him. He is entering the final season of his contract extension signed in 2016, and because there is no guaranteed money left on his contract, the Bengals can walk away from it without a cap hit.

Jones turned his career around in Cincinnati after it almost ended when he was suspended for the entire 2007 season after an incident in a Las Vegas nightclub that resulted in a man being paralyzed. Jones was later ordered to pay $12 million in damages to the victim.

Jones, a 2005 first-round pick for the Titans, spent one season in Dallas before signing with the Bengals and eventually earned a starting role there. He was named a team captain for the first time in his career last season.