The Bengals open their preseason next Sunday

Adam Jones is just a cornerback trying to prove to the Cincinnati Bengals that the talent of "Pacman" remains, minus the baggage.

The 26-year-old Jones is attempting a comeback after sitting out all of last season when none of the league's 32 teams would take a chance on him.

"I've got a lot to work on," said Jones, following his first day of practice with the Bengals at Georgetown College. "It was my first time playing press coverage in two years, so it was a tough first day. I was on the ground way too many times. But it's good to have a first day."

Tennessee made Jones the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft, and he started 28 games in his first two seasons with the Titans. In the last three years, however, he has played in just nine. He missed the entire 2007 season with the first of two league-mandated suspensions.

The Titans traded Jones to Dallas before the 2008 draft, but an alcohol-related altercation with a bodyguard the Cowboys provided for him cost Jones another six games and, eventually, his job.

Two workouts during this offseason showed the Bengals enough that they Rey Maualuga signed Jones in May to a two-year contract worth the league minimum. He is battling for playing time behind starters Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall in a defensive unit that ranked fourth overall in the NFL last season in yards allowed.

He's listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind Joseph, but depth charts are nothing more than names written in pencil this time of the year.

"His transition will be to play snap-after-snap football and prove that he can do that in a competitive environment all of the time," coach Marvin Lewis said. "He needs to be a disciplined player play in and play out, and execute the techniques and things we're asking him to do."

The hoopla surrounding the acquisition and arrival of free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens last week kept the spotlight away from Jones. The players were teammates in Dallas.

"He's a lot quieter," said Owens of the difference between Adam and "Pacman."

"Everybody knows their own abilities. He's been out of football for a little bit so it's going to take him some time to get his timing back, but as training camp progresses you get your timing back. When you're drafted in the first round, that tells you about your talent level. You just have to play up to those expectations."

The Bengals open their preseason next Sunday in the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, against the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Marvin Lewis said after Monday night's practice that Gresham could play in the first of Cincinnati's five preseason games.

"We'll get him in here, get him going and he'll have an opportunity Chad Ochocinco to get into the football game on Sunday," Lewis said. "He has a chance to get off to a great start. He'll get four good weeks of football and be ready for that first week (of the regular season)."

Gresham was expected to win the starting job during camp. The Bengals listed him as the starter even though he was missing practices during the holdout.

A few hours before Gresham reached an agreement, Lewis dropped Gresham lower on the depth chart at the position. Veteran Reggie Kelly has returned from a ruptured Achilles' tendon in his left leg, but is expected to revert to Gresham's backup again when the rookie arrives on Tuesday.

"I'm glad the signing will happen," Lewis said. "He'll work at it. We've got a lot of snaps for him to get accustomed and get back in. He'll take 50 percent of the snaps."

Tight end was a major problem last season after Kelly and backup Ben Utecht suffered season-ending injuries during camp. Utecht sustained a major concussion. The Bengals drafted Gresham to give Carson Palmer another over-the-middle target.

The Bengals managed to get their top pick in camp before the first preseason game, a major improvement over last season. Offensive tackle Andre Smith missed the first three preseason games in a holdout, then broke his left foot during practice two days later.