Attorney Manny Arora said yesterday the defense team believes Jones would have won a trial on two felony counts of coercion for inciting a fight inside the club. But a trial wouldn't have happened for at least six months.
"And he may have lost another year of eligibility by going forward. In the real world, sometimes you have to make these difficult decisions for what's best for your career, and we didn't want this dragging on any further," Arora said.
Even so, the deal won't help Jones, 24, get back into the NFL this season. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones for the season in April for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Goodell and Jones met Nov. 2 to discuss the suspension, but Goodell chose not to shorten Jones's punishment.
The Las Vegas shooting case was a factor in that decision, and the NFL Players Association is asking Goodell to reconsider. Arora said he hopes the NFL recognizes that the plea says Jones "didn't even commit any disorderly conduct in the club."
The NFL declined to comment.
Freeney done for year?
The Colts tried to shore up their injury-depleted defensive line by claiming
Simeon Rice, 33, off waivers. Indianapolis hopes Rice can fill in for Pro Bowl defensive end
Dwight Freeney, who suffered a left foot injury against San Diego Sunday.
Rice, who played for Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy when they were in Tampa Bay in 2001, was released by Denver Friday. "Simeon obviously knows our system," Colts president Bill Polian said Monday on his weekly radio show. "He has played for Tony before. He fits like a glove."
Rice has 121 career sacks, second among active players to Michael Strahan of the Giants.
Polian said Freeney could miss four or more games, but ESPN.com reported he might have suffered a Lisfranc injury, which takes months to rehabilitate, and he may need season-ending surgery. The Lisfranc joint, named for a surgeon in Napoleon's army, is where the bones of the forefoot (metatarsals) and arch (tarsals) connect.
