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Pacman Jones gives Bengals rookie Dre Kirkpatrick guidance

Rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick knows all about Adam Jones.

He knows about his career as a veteran cornerback in the league and he knows about his trials and tribulations as a young, newly wealthy man off the field. All that matters now, though, is that Jones has taken Kirkpatrick under his wing.

"I haven't had anything negative from him," Kirkpatrick told the Cincinnati Bengals' official team site. "He doesn't want to see me following in his footsteps. Just being around the wrong people. Surrounding myself with not a lot of positive people. Those are the things that he's been trying to tell me."

Jones is also trying to help other NFL rookies stay on the right path. Commissioner Roger Goodell will have Jones speak to the rookies in the annual NFL rookie symposium in Canton, Ohio. The 16-year-old tradition is meant to warn the rookies of the off-field risk that come along with life in the NFL.

Jones' troubles were back in the news this week when he was ordered to pay $11.7 million in damages stemming from a 2007 shooting in a Las Vegas strip club.

"I was pathetic," Jones said in an assessment of his past behavior. "I had no respect for the money I got. I had respect for football. (But) I acted like I was still hanging out in college. I didn't realize the scrutiny that came with it."

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