Two years ago, former Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold said the Raiders flipped a coin to decide on whether to draft him or Brock Bowers with the 13th pick in the 2024 draft.
Former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said the team did not flip a coin on who to draft that year, but if the Raiders still have interest in Arnold after he was arrested on eight felony charges last month, the former first round pick is free to sign with any team after being released by the Lions on June 29.
It seems unlikely the Raiders would be interested in adding a player as deeply tangled in the legal system as Arnold, but according to Los Angeles radio host Ben Maller, the Raiders are one of three teams rumored to be interested in Arnold.
“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 on FOX Sports Radio’s Ben Maller Show.
“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 [Arnold].”
It is sometimes hard to know what’s true and what isn’t when it comes to NFL reporting, but the Arnold rumors should probably be placed in the same category as the Christian Wilkins rumblings that popped up a few months ago.
In April, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said 26 NFL teams had reached out to Wilkins’ agent with interest in signing the veteran defensive tackle.
But three months later, Wilkins remains unsigned and no one is talking about him.
NBC Sports host Mike Florio talked about Arnold this week and offered what he believes is going on with the rumored interest in Arnold.
“Anytime I hear a claim that two, three, five teams, whatever, are interested in the player, usually that’s something that’s leaked by the agent to an insider who has the phone at the ready to tweet it,” Florio said on PFT Live on Tuesday.
“I won’t be surprised if come Monday morning, when this hearing happens, the judge says, ‘Mr. Steinberg, who are the three teams and do you have any documentation of their interest?’ And the other wrinkle that I’m not sure the court understands is the very real possibility that even if Arnold is on a roster, he’ll be placed on paid leave by the NFL, pending trial, which would eliminate the argument for the removal of the monitoring device,” Florio continued.
“If the judge asks Harvey Steinberg about paid leave, the Commissioner’s Exempt list, I’ll know the judge is fully up to speed on the realities of what Arnold is facing with respect to what the league can do. And my informed suspicion, it’s not informed by knowing what the league has said to the Lions or what the Lions have said to the league, but others in the league have articulated the notion that there’s no way the Lions released Terrion Arnold without some sort of communication or coordination with the league office.”
The Raiders no longer have tremendous need at Cornerback
For as much as agents and in this case, maybe lawyers, love to link the Raiders to their clients, the fit this time doesn’t seem like a good one.
In March, the Raiders brought back Eric Stokes on a three-year deal and added two cornerbacks in the draft – both of which have received a lot of praise in the offseason. Also in the mix is last year’s third round pick, Darien Porter, who some around the team believe has the inside track to a starting job this year.
Between Porter, Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses, the Raiders have three young cornerbacks in the building, and all have intriguing upside.
What that probably means for Arnold is that the Raiders aren’t interested and what Florio said about the rumored interest in the former first round pick is probably true.
x: @raidersbeat
No,the Raiders are Not interested.
Looks like Arnold is the perfect hire for ICE.
Or Gov of Maine, President, any music executive, Pastor, Muslim, Human.
Shut the Fu*k up and leave your politics out of this