The Seattle Seahawks agreed to terms with cornerback Terrion Arnold in training camp after the team had visited with the embattled cornerback twice. People in the organization, including quarterback Jalen Milroe, vouched for Arnold's character, and that was all general manager John Schneider needed to hear.
But any thinking that Schneider and the team went into the deal with Arnold blindly is silly. Schneider likely assumed that Arnold, who is facing eight felony counts, including four related to kidnapping and four to armed robbery, would either be suspended by the NFL or placed on the exempt list, meaning that Seattle wouldn't have the services of Arnold at the start of the season.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport confirmed the situation on Tuesday in a tweet that read, "The Seahawks are still planning to sign CB Terrion Arnold but are working through the timing, and it will take a while, sources tell me and Mike Garofolo. Arnold will be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list when he signs, meaning he’d be ineligible to play or practice."
Ian Rapoport tweets the Terrion Arnold information that Seattle Seahawks fans already knew
The above is not new information, mind you. This wasn't a scenario where the Seahawks were expecting to sign Arnold and then have him suit up in Week 1. He might not be able to play at all in 2026, which is why the team only offered him a one-year deal. To make the contract a multi-year deal would have been foolish because if Arnold is found guilty, he will likely land in jail.
Moreover, even if the cornerback does play, he isn't going to be handed a starting job. He was a first-round choice for the Detroit Lions in 2024 (Detroit released the cornerback earlier this year after the charges were announced), but he hasn't played to that level. He was a poor fit in the Lions' scheme and committed too many bad penalties.
That said, if anyone can fix Arnold the player, it is head coach Mike Macdonald. No matter what anyone thinks of how good the Lions could be, no coach in the league is better at teaching defense than the coach currently leading Seattle.
None of that matters for now, however. Terrion Arnold cannot practice or play (he can participate in meetings, though) until the NFL says he can, and the league might never say he can. A court of law might also say Arnold isn't free to play football because he might be serving a felony sentence.
Still, Jalen Milroe was teammates with Arnold in college, and by all accounts, Milroe is a good human being. If he thinks highly of Arnold, maybe the cornerback isn't as bad as he seems to some right now. That has nothing to do with how good or bad a football player he is.
Add us as a preferred source on Google