US.Unexpected good news from Detroit Lions: Terrion Arnold received positive results, can return to play this month!
This month was shaping up as a tough stretch for the Detroit Lions‘ secondary until the injury-plagued unit got a bit of good news on Tuesday, October 7.
Starting cornerback Terrion Arnold hurt his shoulder during the third quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, leaving the field on a cart. Detroit ultimately ruled him out for the afternoon and the update during Monday’s media availability was even worse.
“Unfortunately, he’s going to be out for a while,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “He’s going to be out for a long time.”
That framing of the injury served as a strong indication that Arnold was bound for the injured reserve list (IR), where fellow starting cornerback D.J. Reed currently resides due to a hamstring issue. However, a second opinion shone a ray of optimism on Arnold’s potential return timeline, leaving it far rosier than
A second opinion on Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s shoulder today revealed the injury is not as bad as feared and he now is expected to return, as one source described, “sooner than expected”, quite possibly this month.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2025
A second opinion on Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s shoulder today revealed the injury is not as bad as feared and he now is expected to return, as one source described, ‘sooner than expected,’ quite possibly this month,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported via X.
Detroit won’t need to use one of its IR designations on Arnold if his prognosis has him back in the lineup at some point within the next three games. Sending a player to IR guarantees he will miss at least four weeks.
Terrion Arnold Has Struggled in 2nd NFL Season, but Played Well Against Bengals Prior to Injury
GettyDetroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
A first-round pick of the Lions in the 2024 NFL draft, Arnold hasn’t had a particularly strong year through five games.
Pro Football Focus ranks him as the 132nd-best cornerback out of 169 qualifying players at the position through Week 5. That said, his pass rush grade has improved slightly, though that isn’t a huge part of what the team asks him to do. And Arnold’s run defense grade has improved dramatically from his rookie year, up nearly 14 points based on PFF’s proprietary grading scale.
But Arnold’s coverage grade is down from his rookie campaign, when it was already far from stellar. As a result, his overall player grade is also slightly lower than it was when he finished 15th in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2024.
