Things already were not trending in a good direction for now-former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, who had been put on notice by the club to improve his performance in 2026 or risk losing his roster spot.
Of course, Arnold is no longer with the Lions after being released by the club following his latest legal turmoils. How things ultimately transpired with Arnold and the Lions isn’t how head coach Dan Campbell envisioned when he spoke about the issues facing the former 1st round pick out of Alabama earlier this year.
But now, Campbell has broken his silence on how things ended with Arnold.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell Breaks Silence On Now-Former Cornerback Terrion Arnold
Arnold was eventually released by the Lions after being arrested in late June; he was charged with four counts of kidnapping and armed robbery after voluntarily turning himself in to police.
“I addressed the team last night over that,” Campbell said during Wednesday’s training camp session. “You know, it stinks. You never want to let go of a player, especially somebody that you’ve been around for a while here and you drafted and all that. It’s unfortunate, but we made the move we thought was best for us.”
Meanwhile, earlier this year in March, Campbell indicated that he didn’t foresee any issues with Arnold.
“I feel like we’re going to be good here,” Campbell told reporters at the NFL’s annual league meeting. “I’m going to trust what the kid said.”
Meanwhile, Arnold still has support from his former teammate D.J. Reed, who is on the verge of his ninth NFL season.
“He’s a great human being, one of the better men, better teammates that I’ve met in the league,” said Reed. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but he’s a great dude. A great human being. His energy is always positive. I reached out to him. He’s doing good.”
Not long before Arnold’s legal issues came to a head, Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard directly called him out, essentially telling him to just be quiet and play.
“I need him to be quiet and just play,” Sheppard said. “You guys know. I don’t know if the media would like that, because I’m sure T.A. gives you guys a lot of things to write on. But no, I talked to, he calls me too much. But that kid has a great heart. Man, he wants to be great. But I told him it’s a difference in talking about being great and actually being great. And he’s starting to understand that.”
The Lions Are Moving On Without Terrion Arnold
Meanwhile, Campbell expressed confidence in the cornerbacks that the Lions do have at their disposal entering the upcoming campaign.
“We’re fired up,” Campbell said. “Look, it’s why we got Rock back. We went and got McCreary. We knew we’d get Rake back off injury. We drafted Abney. Certainly, Dorse is back. So, (Nick Whiteside) Ironsides is back. We feel pretty good in that room with the competition and those guys between veterans, young guys and ability.”
Lions’ Dan Campbell Breaks Silence On Terrion Arnold