Big day for Cowboys: Pacman's playing, TO's staying

IRVING, Texas — No matter how things play out, June 2, 2008, goes down as a big day for the Dallas Cowboys.

On the same afternoon, the Cowboys found out that Pacman is playing and T.O. is staying.

First came the bolt from the NFL: Not only was commissioner Roger Goodell letting suspended cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones join the team for workouts, Jones also was cleared to play in training camp and preseason games — everything but the regular season. The league said a decision on that will come by Sept. 1, six days before the Cowboys' opener.

Also Monday, the team agreed to a three-year contract extension with Terrell Owens that's worth around $27 million. It was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person close to negotiations who asked to remain anonymous because the deal hadn't been announced.

On Tuesday, Jones was expected on the field, while the Cowboys also called a 4 p.m. news conference. The club didn't say it was to announce Owens' deal, but did say Owens and team owner Jerry Jones would attend. Pacman's partial reinstatement obviously was to be discussed, too.

Locking up Owens makes sense because he's been so productive and so happy, at least since Bill Parcells left after the 2006 season. Owens never publicly pouted about going into the final year of his initial contract with the Cowboys, and this agreement — which pays him close to what Randy Moss recently received — should keep him smiling, especially since it keeps him employed through his 38th birthday.

Owens maintained all offseason that he wasn't worried about his contract status, confident Jerry Jones would take care of him.

Jerry Jones, meanwhile, has spent weeks waiting to see what Goodell would do about Pacman.

The commissioner had been indicating a July meeting would be necessary before letting Pacman go to training camp, but apparently things went pretty well when they chatted two weeks ago in Atlanta following the NFL owners meetings.

It's also possible the commissioner is counting on the Cowboys and their player development staff to keep him in check. The team helped Tank Johnson return from a similar suspension last season and has successfully dealt with other troubled players.