The first month of the season hasn’t been easy for Detroit Lions second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold. The former first-round pick has struggled in coverage, allowing a lot of yards, and has been victimized by penalties.
If you’re a Lions fan, this isn’t what you expected from the young cornerback after a so-so rookie year. Things got slightly worse for Arnold as he exited Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. This is the last thing you want to hear if you’re Arnold, given how the first four games have played out.
For the Lions, if the young defensive back misses anytime, it might be time to make a change on the outside. Even if he doesn’t miss time, Detroit might have to consider benching him.
What those changes are remains to be seen, as veteran CB D.J. Reed was carted off the field on Sunday.
Lions Should Look to Make Changes to Secondary Following Terrion Arnold Injury
Depending on what happens with Arnold, the Lions could move Amik Robertson outside for the foreseeable future. In fact, head coach Dan Campbell teased the idea earlier this week of using Robertson more.
The veteran cornerback played a lot in the slot last year, where he thrived and gave the Lions’ defense a boost.
Heading into Week 4, Robertson had a 100% completion percentage allowed on targets (6) and a 118.7 pass rating allowed on targets. For any other cornerback that’s not good, but given how much the Lions play in their base defense, you’ll live with it.
If Robertson plays outside more going forward in place of Arnold, the Lions could throw Avonte Maddox in the slot, a position he played with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Another possible option for Detroit is putting Rock Ya-Sin on the outside. The Lions signed the veteran cornerback to a one-year contract this offseason as more of a depth piece.
Over the last two years, Ya-Sin has been a special teamer and backup with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. However, early in his career with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts, Ya-Sin started in 38 combined games out of 52.
In the first three games with the Lions, Ya-Sin has mostly played on special teams. However, in Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, Ya-Sin had to line up on the outside with Robertson due to the injuries to Arnold and Reed.
It’s not an ideal situation for Detroit, but to get where they want to go, they might have to make some tough decisions regarding Arnold.