On Monday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said cornerback Terrion Arnold was “going to be out for a long time” after the former Alabama All-American sustained a shoulder injury in Sunday’s 37-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
But on Wednesday came news that a second look at Arnold’s shoulder had produced a less pessimistic outlook, although it apparently did not produce a timetable for when the cornerback could come back.
“Right now, just trying to stay as positive as possible,” Arnold said on Wednesday, “and feel like with those different opinions and having different people look at it, like, my second opinion went very, very well. But, like I said, just trying to stay positive on it. …
“I don’t know how many weeks and my body heals fast, but I’m just trying to get on the field with my teammates as fast as possible.”
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Campbell also didn’t say when Arnold might be back in the Detroit secondary.
“It sounds like we got a different report, right?” Campbell said on Wednesday. “There’s a second opinion that came in, and so now it’s, ‘OK, let’s see if we can strengthen a little bit, get a little bit of inflammation out.’ I don’t know how long that’s going to be, though, so I still may kind of go back to ‘He may be out a while.’ I don’t.
“But, yeah, I mean, the second opinion came back, and it sounds like it could be promising. But that’s no guarantee either, so we’re kind of in this wait-and-see, and we’ll hold off here a little bit and just see where he goes.”
While no definitive return date has been established, Arnold is relieved his injury doesn’t appear to be season-ending now.
“When I first got the news, like, I wanted to cry,” Arnold said. “I mean, I just love playing football, being out there with my teammates. And I feel like that last game was kind of like the first game I actually felt, like, free. Like, I had like a lot of, like, off-the-field stuff kind of going on, like family issues, and just like being able to go out there and let everything go and then kind of crediting, like, my coaches, like even just talking to Dan, talking to coach (Kelvin Sheppard) and, like, them being in my ear and just allowing me to, like, keep my confidence.
“So like that game right there, like, it was, like, my back-to-myself training camp, and then when that happened it kind of like devastated me. But just being able to know, like, it’s a chance that – well, I won’t even say it’s a chance. Like, I’m trying to come back as fast as possible, so just getting that news right there, like it was a confidence-lifter for me.”
The Lions play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 20 before reaching their open date in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Detroit returns from its bye on Nov. 2 with an NFC North game against the Minnesota Vikings.
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