The Detroit Lions find themselves navigating a challenging offseason after the release of former first-round pick Terrion Arnold, a development that has drawn pointed criticism from one of the team’s most respected beat writers.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has suggested that the organization failed to adequately prepare for the possibility that Arnold’s legal troubles would force the club to move on from the young cornerback, leaving the secondary thinner than it needed to be heading into the 2026 campaign.
“I don’t think they did enough,” Birkett said on Crunch Time Sports. “I think it was pretty obvious to anyone who had done any reporting or investigating on the matter, you know, way back in February or March that Terrion Arnold could be caught up in some of this stuff. The Lions should have done a little bit more to prepare for potentially losing him. Obviously you signed Roger McCreary, re-signed Rock Ya-Sin, those are nice veteran depth additions.”
Arnold arrived in Detroit with high expectations after the Lions traded up to select him 24th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Alabama product was viewed as a potential cornerstone for the secondary, yet his early career was marked by inconsistency and injury.
Limited to just eight games in 2025 because of a season-ending shoulder injury, Arnold finished that year with 31 combined tackles, one interception, and eight passes defender. His time with the Lions ended in late June when the team released him despite two years remaining on his rookie contract, which carried a remaining value of roughly $4.8 million.
The release followed Arnold’s decision to turn himself in to authorities in Florida on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping.
He was later released from Hillsborough County Jail after a judge approved a $1 million bond that included strict conditions, among them a requirement that he remain at his residence in Tallahassee except for limited, court-approved reasons such as NFL-related activities, court appearances, or meetings with his attorneys.
Birkett thinks the Lions absolutely should have done more in their defensive backfield.
“Let’s not pretend like Terrion Arnold, even though he was the first-round pick, was was some No. 1 cornerback that was ultimately going be the biggest hindrance to this defense losing him. He was the most talented cornerback on the roster, but he wasn’t the best cornerback,” Birkett added.
“And so, I think the Lions could have done more, should have done more way back in free agency, potentially the draft just to bolster that room in general.”
While the Lions did add veteran depth by signing Roger McCreary and re-signing Rock Ya-Sin, Birkett maintains those moves fell short of addressing the broader vulnerability created by Arnold’s potential absence.
Training camp is scheduled to open this week without the former first-rounder on the roster, forcing the Lions to rely on a secondary that, in Birkett’s view, could have been more thoroughly reinforced when the warning signs first appeared earlier in the year.
