The Detroit Lions were not willing to let the noise and bad press that came with cornerback Terrion Arnold impact the 2026 season. With the 2024 first-round pick facing multiple felony charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping, Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell released one of the starters from last season and will push for their first Super Bowl without him.
The Lions still need to move forward for 2026, though the Arnold situation has taken an already poor cornerback room and made things even more dire. There's a good chance that Detroit ends up starting a trio of veterans with fairly low ceilings, as they clearly were hoping the third season would be the charm for Arnold's development.
While ESPN did list Detroit as the sixth-best roster in the NFL, they did note that the secondary remains perhaps the biggest question mark that could undo all the progress they made. In the blink of an eye, the secondary went from a fairly deep unit to a collection of uncertain, volatile cases.
Lions' secondary ranked as biggest need after Terrion Arnold release
With Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch both working their way back from injuries as they try to recover their elite form, those two can't be counted on to instantly perform at an elite level during the 2026 season. This places even more pressure on the cornerback room, and that could be a nightmare situation for Holmes and Campbell.
DJ Reed is a solid outside corner, but he is more of a high-end No. 2 than he is a No. 1, and he struggled to stay healthy. Names like Roger McCreary and Rock Ya-Sin should be depth pieces who play in sub packages, not starters on a team hoping to contend.
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Detroit had the ability to bring in some reinforcements in the NFL Draft, but they didn't draft a cornerback until Arizona State's Keith Abney II in the fifth round. While Abney was considered a major steal who many believe should have been picked in the first two rounds, counting on a fifth-round pick who will likely play more nickel than anything else to beef up the depth could be problematic.
Cornerback quality has been an issue for most of Campbell's tenure with the Lions, and Arnold's personal troubles have knocked their most promising solution to that problem out of commission. Unless a trade is made, 2026 could be rough sledding for this defense.
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