At some point enough must be enough for Bengals with Adam Jones

Symbolism is probably something that’s overrated by sportswriters and fans, but parting ways with Adam Jones might be a good way to start this important Bengals offseason.

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Many have faulted Marvin Lewis for failing to make similar moves with Jones and others in the past, giving the impression that he doesn’t run a tight enough ship.

That’s a perception he could start to fix now, although he has never given much indication it concerns him so he probably won’t.

Admittedly Jones' having a poor season and being up there in terms of age makes it convenient to use him as a scapegoat for what could be larger problems with the team, but it's a cutthroat business and this marks 10 off-field incidents of various severities since he entered the league in 2005.

Trouble has long followed the West Virginia product, who also made headlines this past season when he called Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor “trash” and the year before when he was part of the infamous meltdown that led to a loss to the Steelers in the playoffs.

His exit would further weaken the secondary, but that’s looking like it needs a full reboot anyway.

Bringing Lewis back for another season was the right move because the Bengals don’t appear to be that far away from contending again, but it’s also reasonable to expect there to be little slack for Lewis and many others on the team in the coming year.

If he doesn’t cut to his left, the coach may just be weakening the rope to his right.

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