Lions Get Unexpectedly Good News on Injured CB Terrion Arnold

This month was shaping up as a tough stretch for the Detroit Lions‘ secondary until the injury-plagued unit got a bit of good news on Tuesday, October 7.

Starting cornerback Terrion Arnold hurt his shoulder during the third quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, leaving the field on a cart. Detroit ultimately ruled him out for the afternoon and the update during Monday’s media availability was even worse.

“Unfortunately, he’s going to be out for a while,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “He’s going to be out for a long time.”

That framing of the injury served as a strong indication that Arnold was bound for the injured reserve list (IR), where fellow starting cornerback D.J. Reed currently resides due to a hamstring issue. However, a second opinion shone a ray of optimism on Arnold’s potential return timeline, leaving it far rosier than the picture Campbell painted the day prior.

A second opinion on Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s shoulder today revealed the injury is not as bad as feared and he now is expected to return, as one source described, ‘sooner than expected,’ quite possibly this month,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported via X.

Detroit won’t need to use one of its IR designations on Arnold if his prognosis has him back in the lineup at some point within the next three games. Sending a player to IR guarantees he will miss at least four weeks.

Terrion Arnold Has Struggled in 2nd NFL Season, but Played Well Against Bengals Prior to Injury

GettyDetroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.

A first-round pick of the Lions in the 2024 NFL draft, Arnold hasn’t had a particularly strong year through five games.

Pro Football Focus ranks him as the 132nd-best cornerback out of 169 qualifying players at the position through Week 5. That said, his pass rush grade has improved slightly, though that isn’t a huge part of what the team asks him to do. And Arnold’s run defense grade has improved dramatically from his rookie year, up nearly 14 points based on PFF’s proprietary grading scale.

But Arnold’s coverage grade is down from his rookie campaign, when it was already far from stellar. As a result, his overall player grade is also slightly lower than it was when he finished 15th in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2024.

Still, Campbell spoke highly of the effort and overall play of Arnold against the Bengals on Sunday.

“He was very competitive,” Campbell said. “I thought he was calm. I thought he was cool. And I thought it was one of the better games he has played in a while. Thought he was pretty good. We put a lot on him, and I thought he answered the bell.”

Lions Will Face 2 Tough Opponents in Chiefs, Buccaneers Without D.J. Reed and Likely Without Terrion Arnold

GettyDetroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed.

Part of the reason so much was on Arnold was the absence of Reed. And while he is on IR, that outcome actually proved better than what Reed initially though was going to be his situation following a severe hamstring strain against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.

Like Arnold, Reed also left the field on a cart, which is almost always a terrible sign of the ensuing update.

“Reed didn’t participate in Wednesday’s practice but was spotted in the locker room without a boot or brace on his injured leg,” Eric Woodyard of ESPN reported October 1. “He said he thought he tore a hamstring off the bone, ‘but that’s not the case, thank God. I thought it was a wrap.'”

It is a guarantee that Reed won’t be back next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it still sounds highly unlikely Arnold will be ready in time for that contest. The Lions then face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” on October 20 before their bye the following week.

Why Cooper DeJean’s unclear role is a ‘good thing’ for Vic Fangio, Eagles

When it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025, few players are as multifaceted as Cooper DeJean.

Technically listed as a cornerback, DeJean is deployed mainly out of the slot, but from snap to snap, he can be lined up on the outside against perimeter wide receivers, playing in the box like a quasi safety, or even used at the second level of the defense, filling the role a weakside linebacker may have filled a few years back.

Asked about how his versatility came into play in Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season, including his slot cornerback blitz that nearly resulted in a forced fumble if it wasn’t for a flag, Fangio told reporters during his Week 6 media availability that finding spots for DeJean is an opportunity, not a challenge, as he can do pretty much anything the veteran DC could ask for.

“It’s not a challenge. It’s a good thing,” Fangio explained. “He’s playing nickel for us, obviously. He plays corner and base. He could play safety if we needed him to. He’s just a [heck] of a football player [who] I’m glad we have.”

Where a normal nickel cornerback might play 70 percent of defensive snaps considering three wide receiver sets are more or less the new base offensive set at the NFL level, DeJean has been on the field for all 333 of the Eagles’ defensive snaps so far this season, with third cornerbacks Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, and Adoree’ Jackson combining for 269 total snaps or 80 percent.

As a result, DeJean has been tasked with playing the sort of complex, multifaceted role that makes him a real pain in the behind for opposing quarterbacks and their offensive coordinators, as it’s hard to judge where he will be on any given play because of his inside-out versatility. Factor in his incredible athletic gifts, and Fangio’s assertion that DeJean’s versatility is a good problem to have is right on point.

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