Judge’s order on Monday is not the final hurdle for Terrion Arnold to get back to the Lions
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold received a favorable ruling in court Monday, but don’t assume that answers Detroit’s biggest question. There are still two major hurdles standing between Arnold and any potential return.
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold was granted a $1 million bond on Monday following a pre-trial hearing that lasted more than two hours. Arnold was arrested last week on multiple counts of armed robbery and multiple counts of kidnapping. The Lions’ second-year defensive back had been denied bond last Thursday, but Monday’s hearing gave both sides the opportunity to present their cases before the judge ultimately allowed Arnold to post bond with conditions.
Those conditions are significant. Arnold cannot leave the country. He must surrender his passport within 48 hours. He is not allowed to have contact with any of the six co-defendants or the witness in the case. He is ordered to remain confined to his residence or his workplace. He will not be required to wear a GPS tracking device, but any violation of these conditions could result in further punishment.
What this means for the Lions
The bond terms technically allow Arnold to be at work, which means he could attend Lions training camp at the end of July. He could practice. He could, legally speaking, be on the field. But here’s the thing: that does not mean the Lions are getting Arnold back.
There are still major hurdles standing between Arnold and a return to game action. The first is the NFL itself. The league could decide to suspend Arnold, or it could place him on the commissioner’s exempt list. A league source told Pro Football Talk that they are reviewing the situation by the way. That designation would keep Arnold off the field while still paying him. Either path would prevent him from suiting up regardless of what the court allows.
The second hurdle is the team. Detroit could decide to suspend Arnold on its own. You can understand why the organization might not be thrilled with how this has unfolded. The Lions spent most of the summer operating under one understanding of the situation from Arnold, and then the arrest happened. Arnold maintains his innocence, but the Lions could very well feel that things have taken a turn they didn’t anticipate and choose to act accordingly.
No answers coming anytime soon
The difficult part for everyone following this story is the timeline. Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes are not scheduled to speak publicly until training camp in late July or early August. There are no press conferences, no media availabilities, no opportunities to ask the questions that need asking. Outside of whatever the team chooses to communicate on its own terms, there is very little information coming from the Lions’ side.
That means we are in a holding pattern. There is no reason to get excited about Arnold returning to the Lions’ secondary, and there is no reason to assume the worst either. The legal process will play out on its own schedule, and the league and team will make their respective decisions when they are ready.
What we know right now is limited to what the court provided on Monday: a $1 million bond, a set of conditions, and a legal pathway that allows Arnold to be at his workplace. Everything beyond that remains uncertain. The bond ruling was one step in a process that still has a long way to go, and Arnold still has to clear hurdles from both the NFL and Detroit before he gets anywhere near the field.
We’ll see where things go from here.
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