The case against Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell over the Terrion Arnold situation doesn’t hold up under the weight of context
There’s been plenty of opinions about how Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions handled the Terrion Arnold situation. But they all ignore several giant points of context.
The Detroit Lions and their cornerback situation have become a lightning rod for revisionist history. Every fan, every commenter, every person with a social media account seems to have the answer for what Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell should have done about Terrion Arnold. The problem is that every single one of those answers requires a time machine.
I get it. The 2024 draft class looks bad. I’m not going to argue that point. It looks real bad, and it would take a miracle for it to look better. You have my full agreement there. But what I don’t agree with is the amount of hindsight and revisionist history being thrown into the discussion about what the Lions should have done about Arnold’s situation.
You didn’t know, and neither did they
There are people out there who refuse to admit that Arnold was the consensus No. 1 cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft. They won’t say it because it takes away ammo from the argument that Holmes and Campbell screwed this class up. Some are throwing around words like “incompetence,” but they’re arguing from a position where they already know the answer.
What were Detroit’s options back in February when the initial report surfaced? All anyone knew at the time was that Arnold owned an Airbnb, it had been robbed, and he had filed a police report. You’re essentially saying the Lions should have released him the moment his name appeared in any context. The only way that argument works is if you create a scenario where the front office somehow knew the outcome we know now and chose to sit on it until June. That makes no sense.
The second significant update didn’t come until March 26, when reports linked Arnold’s name to the situation in a much bigger way. By then, free agency was functionally over. Anyone the Lions could have targeted had already signed elsewhere. The court system has no obligation to communicate case details to an NFL franchise. The Lions found out everything at the same time we did.
Arnold was playing better, and the Lions saw it
Here’s the part nobody wants to acknowledge now. From an on-field standpoint, Arnold played a lot better in 2025 before he got hurt. Go back and watch that Cincinnati game. I was there. I watched it live. He played well. Played well in Week 2 against Chicago. Played well in Week 3. He was finally starting to show something, and then the injury happened.
The Lions were clearly focused on the trajectory, not just the result. They went into the offseason believing they had a No. 2 starting corner opposite DJ Reed. They had Rock Ya-Sin as a quality backup and were hoping Ennis Rakestraw could stay healthy. That plan made sense with the information available at the time.
It reminds me of when the Lions drafted Eric Ebron instead of Aaron Donald. At the time, Detroit had Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Nobody knew Donald was going to become what he became. That’s why he got drafted in the middle of the first round. Every team that passed on him gets a pass except the Lions. The hindsight framing is always selective.
The free agent market wasn’t what people think it was
For those saying the Lions should have signed a big-name corner, take a look at who was actually available. Alontae Taylor, a slot corner, got $58 million. Jamel Dean, who has been dealing with injuries. Amik Robertson was a slot corner everyone agreed wasn’t the right fit. There was an abundance of slot corners available. There was almost nothing at outside corner.
On the trade market, two cornerbacks changed teams. Taron Johnson went to the Las Vegas Raiders for a seventh-round pick. He’s not a starter. Trent McDuffie went to the Rams for a 2026 first-round pick, the same type of asset the Lions used to draft their starting right tackle. McDuffie is a good corner, but that is a lot to pay for him.
What the Lions should do now
Where I will agree with everyone is that Detroit would be reckless to do nothing at this point. If the Lions’ plan is to roll with Ya-Sin, hope Rakestraw can stay healthy (which he has not shown he can do), hope Nick Whiteside is better than just a one-night flash in the pan, and hope an undrafted free agent rookie turns into a surprise contributor, that is absolutely not good enough.
The options are limited, though. Maybe you sign a Tre’Davious White. Maybe you see what a young guy like Kyu Blue Kelly has. Marshon Lattimore is dealing with his own legal issues, and Trevon Diggs is not the player he once was. There’s a reason all these guys are unsigned.
The most realistic path forward is for the Lions to sign at least one of the available free agents for depth, then make a real move at the November trade deadline with a team looking to sell before the playoffs. That’s the play. There was no better option available to them at any prior point, and creating a fantasy scenario where good teams willingly trade away good cornerbacks doesn’t change that.
What were the Lions supposed to do? If your answer requires a DeLorean and a Sports Almanac, it’s not a real answer.
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