The Las Vegas Raiders apparently almost took cornerback Terrion Arnold instead of tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That's what Arnold said anyway, but the "coin flip" narrative he offered was quickly dismissed by then-head coach Antonio Pierce,
Arnold, of course, ended up being taken by the Detroit Lions with the 24th overall pick in that draft. After an up-and-down, but mostly down, first two seasons, an offseason legal situation that eventually brought an arrest and several felony charges led to the Lions waiving him in late June.
Attorney Harvey Steinberg subsequently informed the court in Florida that Arnold had already been contacted by three teams and expected him to sign "within 30 days." Steinberg is not Arnold's football agent, so this is either completely fabricated by him or it's information given to him with the clear agenda to show that Arnold has employment prospects.
A judge's decision saying Arnold would not be forced to wear an ankle monitor while on home confinement seemed to be premised on his still being employed by a professional football team. Then, the Lions made that no longer the case with his rather quick release.
Prosecutors asked the judge to reconsider the ankle monitor decision, and a hearing to revisit it was postponed from July 6 to July 10.
So, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said, after Arnold cleared waivers, now is the time for teams who are interested in Arnold to act on it. That also assumes that such teams even exist, but until clearly shown otherwise, we can work under that assumption.
Just don't assume that the Raiders will come calling, and don't believe any rumors you hear out there about that happening.
Tying Terrion Arnold to the Las Vegas Raiders is old-school lazy
Legendary Raiders owner Al Davis was a groundbreaking maverick, and he would take chances on people and players by bringing them into the organization. Mistakes in someone's background would not have automatically made them hands-off, but he surely would have drawn the line at multiple felony charges.
Still, the Raiders have been too easy to tie to Arnold, because, well, they're the Raiders. Forget the fact that the cornerback depth chart in Las Vegas is deeper than it's been in years, or that Arnold's actual success on the field since entering the NFL has been limited to none.
And let's also be honest: If he had been any good, the Lions would've hung onto him longer than they did. It didn't make sense, then, that on the June 7 edition of his eponymous FOX Sports Radio show, Ben Maller talked about Arnold being tied to the Raiders.
"Arnold has an attorney -- he probably has more than one -- the attorney told the court that there are not one, not two, but three unnamed teams that immediately reached out to the agent for Arnold after the Lions put him on waivers,” Maller said.
“We think we know the teams,” Maller continued. “The teams include the Raiders, the Browns… and Kansas City. So, supposedly, if you believe the streets, the streets are talking, and those are the three teams that are supposed to be interested in him."
It's hard to know whether Maller is speculating, or if he has credible information (how are we supposed to interpret "the streets are talking?") that says the Raiders, Browns and Chiefs are the three teams with interest in Arnold.
Rumors have now surfaced that the Raiders are a team that Arnold would have a visit with, in light of Adam Schefter's report that Arnold would be visiting teams while supposedly on home confinement. But it's hard to see that particular piece of info as overly credible.
Not only did Las Vegas already invest heavily in its secondary this offseason, particularly in its cornerback room, but the Silver and Black haven't made a low-character signing since John Spytek took his post as general manager. At least none of these players have confirmed off-field problems.
Plus, there is no guarantee that Arnold will play this season, ever play in the NFL again, or be a free citizen again. Why on Earth would Spytek and Klint Kubiak waste their time meeting with a player who could potentially have no future with the Raiders and would be a distraction if he somehow did?
Tying the Silver and Black to a player who has had off-field problems is an antiquated idea, not to mention it being lazy in terms of the team's current situation. Arnold isn't needed from a football standpoint, and the problems that come with him are too big to gloss over.
Is there a chance Arnold ends up having a visit with the Raiders? Sure, in a "never say never" sense. But it's far more likely that they have zero interest in a low-caliber player who might be suspended as soon as he finds a new team, if he ever does.
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