Aaron Glenn acknowledges obvious regarding Terrion Arnold being Week 1 starter

Monday night's practice replicated a M.A.S.H. unit for the Detroit Lions, as Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw and Jahmyr Gibbs left with injuries. Dan Campbell was low on details but high on optimism about those injuries during a radio appearance Wednesday morning. A report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport the previous night suggested Arnold will not miss regular season time with his pectoral injury.

Arnold has worked with the first-team defense during training camp, which reflects his status as a projected starter and a core part of the Lions' cornerback rebuild. It's automatically unlikely he'll play in Saturday's second preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and his status for the preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers is in similar territory until further notice.

Caution is an easy general word with any injuries right now. In Arnold's case, even a relatively minor pectoral injury (not torn) can't be rushed to heal. Lions' cornerback Carlton Davis has joined Arnold and Rakestraw in dealing with an injury.

Aaron Glenn acknowledges obvious about Terrion Arnold starting Week 1

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn talked to reporters on Wednesday. Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, he acknowledged what Arnold has done and still needs to do.

"From college, we know he can go out there and play man coverage," Glenn said. "I mean, you go out there and play in any Nick Saban defense (at Alabama), you’ve got to be able to do that, so it kind of compares to what we do. So yeah, we’ve seen enough, but he’s not where he needs to be yet. He has a lot of improving to do, and man, once he comes back from this injury, he’s got to get out there and get on the grind and continue to work.”

The natural tentacle to Arnold's injury recovery, and whether he's done for training camp/the preseason or not, is if he will start Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. Glenn, of course, can't (and shouldn't) say anything definite right now.

"I can’t say that," Glenn said Wednesday. "We’ve got to see what happens."

Arnold being on the field for the first snap of the season opener is mostly cosmetic, and trivial in the big picture. He could end up being on some kind of snap count in the game, which should not set off any alarms. The main thing is, and remains, the Lions' 2024 first-round pick has apparently avoided a major injury.