The Detroit Lions have taken some big swings in recent years to boost their secondary, with one of the biggest moves coming when they invested a first-round pick in Terrion Arnold in 2024.
Despite his strong potential, Arnold has struggled through injuries and inconsistent play, leading one NFL insider to suggest the Lions could trade him and start over.
Terrion Arnold’s Time With the Lions Coming to an End?
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton identified one player from all 32 NFL teams who could hit the trade block, suggesting the Lions part ways with Arnold.
“Terrion Arnold enters a crucial third season after two inconsistent years. He’s yet to play up to first-round expectations,” Moton wrote. “In his rookie campaign, Arnold recorded 10 pass breakups and allowed four touchdowns and a passer rating of 93.7, which is decent but not great. Last year, Arnold allowed a passer rating of 101.5. He also missed nine games because of injuries.”
Moton added that the Lions could give Arnold another season to prove himself, but noted the team would have a replacement to slide into his place if they choose.
“The Detroit Lions will likely give Arnold another year to rebound from an underwhelming career start, but they re-signed Rock Ya-Sin, who can be a short-term starter,” Moton wrote, adding, “As of now, Ya-Sin can provide pass coverage insurance for a cornerback group snake-bitten by injuries last year, but he could be Arnold’s replacement if the Lions run out of patience with him this summer.”
Terrion Arnold’s Struggles Mounting
Arnold got off to a rough start in his rookie season, with Pro Football Focus ranking him No. 108 of 117 players who qualified for a rating at cornerback. The struggles continued in his second season, leaving him as the 97th-ranked cornerback out of 114 qualifying players.
Arnold also found himself in trouble off the field, with his name being mentioned in text messages related to an alleged robbery and kidnapping, police said. The team stood by Arnold and his lawyer, Tim Jansen, denied the player had any involvement in the case.
“We want to address recent reporting that has inaccurately characterized Terrion Arnold’s alleged connection to this matter,” Jensen said. “Claims that Mr. Arnold was ‘at the center’ of text message communications related to this incident are entirely misleading and reflect a gross negligence in accurately reporting the facts.”
“In reality, the collection of messages in question consists of more than 300 individual texts. Within that volume, Mr. Arnold’s name appears only a handful of times, approximately five, and only in passing references by third parties. At no point do these messages demonstrate that Mr. Arnold was directly involved in any conversations related to the alleged conduct.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell shared a similar message, saying Arnold had no involvement in the criminal allegations.
“We got all the information that says he wasn’t involved,” Campbell said, via NBC Sports. “That’s what we know, that’s all we know, and that’s really all I can say. As far as I know it’s not a big deal. It seems like he still wasn’t involved with this.”
Lions Urged to Part Ways With First-Round CB Amid Struggles