Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday he addressed the franchise's 'unfortunate' decision to release Terrion Arnold with the team on the eve of training camp with the former cornerback facing felony charges. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
'You never want to let go of a player, especially somebody that you've been around for a while here and you drafted,' Campbell said. 'It's unfortunate, but we made the move we thought was best for us.'
The Lions cut ties with Arnold last month, shortly after a Florida judge set Arnold's bail at $1 million on eight felony charges stemming from allegations he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men.
A month after the 2025 season ended for the Lions, prosecutors in Florida say Arnold arranged for the men to be pistol-whipped after he wrongly suspected them of stealing $100,000 in cash and luxury goods from him.
In March, Campbell said the team believed Arnold was not involved in the alleged crime based on the information they had at that time.
'I feel like we're going to be good here,' Campbell told reporters at the NFL's annual league meeting. 'I'm going to trust what the kid said.'
Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for the 23-year-old Arnold, argued in court that prosecutors were 'not even close' to showing that Arnold knew or directed what his associates would do.