The Seattle Seahawks made a move some teams were unwilling to make. The player had some off-field concerns that other teams didn't want to take a chance with, but general manager John Schneider thought his team had the chemistry to absorb any potential problems. That was in 2017, and the player was Malik McDowell.
The hope is that Seattle signing Terrion Arnold this week doesn't turn into the same kind of situation. The cornerback has his own difficult off-field problems, and the hope is that the Seahawks aren't taking an unneeded risk after winning the Super Bowl last year.
12s will remember what happened with McDowell. He never played a down for the team that chose him in the second round of the draft. Before training camp, he got into a serious ATV accident, and that shortened his career. He would only play in part of one season, and that was in 2021 with the Cleveland Browns.
Seattle Seahawks fans likely hope that Terrion Arnold becomes the anti-Malik McDowell
McDowell didn't have the maturity to understand that playing in the NFL is a privilege and not something he is owed. His attitude cost him lots of money and respect around the league.
Arnold hasn't yet played with the Seahawks, but he has at least played two years in the league with the Detroit Lions. The latter gave up on him after the cornerback was charged with eight felony counts for an offseason incident in Florida that involved armed robbery and kidnapping.
After the charges, the Lions released him. Not many teams were willing to take a risk on bringing in Arnold for a visit, though some did. The cornerback decided the Seahawks were his best option.
The positive part is that, unlike McDowell, Seattle isn't paying Arnold initially for several seasons. The cornerback signed only a one-year deal. If he is allowed to play this year, avoiding jail time and not being suspended for most of the season by the NFL, and he does well, he might be setting himself up for a big payday in free agency next year.
But easily dismissing the possibility that Terrion Arnold won't be able to play is foolish. He can likely practice with the Seattle Seahawks, but the league could rule on whether to suspend him before the season begins. John Schneider signing Arnold might become moot if he is banned from football.
If he does play, let's hope he stays clean and proves to be an upstanding citizen, the kind many probably don't believe he can be after the Florida issue. Let's hope that Arnold is the anti-Malik McDowell and becomes a good person and a productive player.
One likely also hopes that the Seahawks aren't just taking the kind of risk that many other teams weren't willing to take and that Arnold becomes disruptive to team chemistry and culture. No one can be sure how the situation will unfold at this point.
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