Kelvin Sheppard: "Disrespectful" to call loss of Terrion Arnold a "setback"
· Yahoo Sports
The Lions moved on from cornerback Terrion Arnold after his arrest on multiple felony charges arising from an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping. Does Arnold's absence hurt the Lions?
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard recently addressed the perception that losing Arnold negatively impacts the team in very blunt fashion.
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"I’m not going to say it was a setback, so to say, because to me, honestly, that's disrespectful to the guys that’s still in this locker room," Sheppard said Sunday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "What I'll say is Terrion Arnold had No. 1 cornerback potential, but it was still untapped, you know what I mean? And I'll kind of leave that at that.”
"Untapped" is a kind way of saying that, in two NFL seasons, Arnold failed to live up to his draft pedigree.
If he had, the Lions wouldn't have cut him.
It's that simple. Excuses are made for the stars. If Arnold had been a Sauce Gardner-style two-time All-Pro to begin his career, the Lions would be spouting off phrases like "innocent until proven guilty" while circling the wagons around Arnold. Because he wasn't good enough to justify the P.R. hit arising from his arrest, Arnold was released.
The fact that he remains unsigned underscores that reality. If he was viewed as a high-end player, someone would have claimed him on waivers. Someone would have signed him by now.
Remember when his agent testified regarding a "very good likelihood" that Arnold would be signed within 45 days? That was 24 days ago. Since then, Arnold has gotten no offers.
Could an opportunity arise as players suffer injuries during training camp? Possibly. Unless teams fear that, promptly after signing Arnold, the league office will put him on paid leave.
Even though Arnold denies the allegations, they are serious charges. They carry a potential sentence of life in prison. It's hard to imagine anyone doing anything until the case is resolved in a way that fully and completely clears him.
So, no, Arnold's absence isn't a setback for the Lions. The setback happened when they used a first-round pick on a player who, for whatever reason, didn't become what the Lions expected him to be.