Phoenix — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he is trusting that cornerback Terrion Arnold is telling the team the truth about not being involved in an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping that took place Feb. 4 in Tampa.
Speaking at the NFL’s annual league meetings on Monday, Campbell said the team is hoping for the best and taking the situation as it comes.
“I mean, until something happens, I feel like we’re going to be good here,” Campbell said. “I’m going to trust what the kid said that we’re all right.”
Arnold’s name has come up in the early stages of a case against six co-defendants, with text messages obtained by The Detroit News last week revealing that his name was referenced in planning the incident — though he was not a participant in the chat as a sender or receiver of the messages — that is alleged in a Feb. 24 judicial order to be retaliation for Arnold having property stolen from his rental home in Largo, Florida.
Arnold has not been charged or arrested in the matter. His lawyer, R. Timothy Jansen, said in a statement last week that he does “not anticipate that any charges will be brought against him.”
“We got all the information that says he wasn’t involved. That’s what we know, that’s all we know, and I mean, that’s really all I can say,” Campbell said. “We’re monitoring what’s out there — I mean, as of a month ago, this was nothing, you know? So, I have no idea what this is. As far as I know, it’s still not a big deal. It seems like he wasn’t involved with this.”
The Lions took steps to fortify their depth at cornerback this offseason, aggressively attacking the position via signings like Rock Ya-Sin, Roger McCreary and Christian Izien. Campbell said those signings weren’t insurance for Arnold’s possible absence, but rather, an attempt to continue adding insurance at a volatile position.
“Getting Rock back was big for us. Now, (Arnold’s situation isn’t) why. … That wasn’t the thought,” Campbell said. “If that happens that way, or you talk about insurance, certainly, we’ll need to be able to fill in somewhere with the depth, but look, we’ve still got (D.J.) Reed. We like (Rakestraw); Rake’s coming back. I know it’s an unproven right now, but he’s had a good offseason to this point. … So we’ve got some things here.”
As for the situation involving Arnold, Campbell says they’ll “take it as it comes.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Coach trusts Lions’ Terrion Arnold not involved in alleged robbery
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
