Damon Arnette
Damon Arnette (born September 2, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
![]() Arnette with Ohio State in 2018 | |||||
Personal information | |||||
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Born: | Dallas, Texas | September 2, 1996||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) | ||||
College: | Ohio State | ||||
Position: | Cornerback | ||||
NFL Draft: | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19 | ||||
Career history | |||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2021 | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Early years and high school
Arnette was born in Dallas, Texas and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when he was three years old.[1] He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where he played linebacker and wide receiver for the Raiders.[2] He was named honorable mention Class 8A-7A-6A All-County as a senior and helped lead the team to a state championship. Rated a three-star recruit, Arnette originally committed to play college football at South Carolina during the summer going into his senior year before changing his commitment to Ohio State on national signing day.[3]
College career
Arnette redshirted his true freshman season after a bone chip was discovered in his tibia during training camp.[2] He played in 13 of Ohio State's games the following season as a key reserve at defensive back and recorded 21 tackles with one interception.[4] As a redshirt sophomore, Arnette started 12 of the Buckeyes 14 games and led the team's cornerbacks with 44 tackles with two interceptions and eight passes broken up and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.[5][6] Arnette was again named honorable mention as a junior, 40 tackles and one interception in 13 games played.[7][8] Arnette originally planned to leave school and forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL draft, but eventually decided to return to Ohio State for his final year of eligibility.[9]
Arnette scored his first career touchdown on September 14, 2019 on a 97-yard interception return against Indiana.[10] Arnette was named second team All-Big Ten at the end of the season, recording 35 tackles, eight passes defended and one interception while playing with a broken wrist.[11][12][13]
College statistics
Season | Team | Class | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solo | Ast | Tot | TFL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FF | FR | ||||
2016 | Ohio State | FR | 11 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Ohio State | SO | 12 | 35 | 9 | 44 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
2018 | Ohio State | JR | 13 | 31 | 9 | 40 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | Ohio State | SR | 11 | 27 | 8 | 35 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 96 | 96.0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Career | 47 | 104 | 36 | 140 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 132 | 26.4 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 1 |
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 11+5⁄8 in (1.82 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
30 in (0.76 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.56 s | ||||||||
All values from NFL Combine[15] |
Las Vegas Raiders
Arnette was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round with the 19th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.[16] The Raiders previously obtained the 19th selection as part of the trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in 2018. He was placed on injured reserve on October 2, 2020 with a thumb injury.[17] He was moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 19,[18] and was moved back to injured reserve on October 30.[19] He was activated to the active roster on November 14, 2020.[20]
Arnette entered the 2021 season as a backup cornerback behind Trayvon Mullen and Casey Hayward. He suffered a groin injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve.[21] The Raiders released him on November 8, 2021, after the discovery of a video showing him brandishing firearms and making death threats.[22]
Miami Dolphins
On December 15, 2021, Arnette was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad.[23] His contract expired when the team's season ended on January 9, 2022.
Kansas City Chiefs
Arnette signed a reserve/futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on January 20, 2022.[24] He was released on January 29, 2022 after he was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and two counts of possession of controlled substances in Las Vegas.[25]
Legal issues
On November 5, 2021, Arnette was accused of injuring a woman in a 2020 car crash. On October 14, 2020, Arnette had allegedly slammed into the woman's car after missing a turn on the way to team practice, and accused Arnette of leaving the scene of the crash. The crash occurred with Arnette traveling at 65 miles per hour, which allegedly caused the woman "head trauma" and "shoulder, neck, and back pain as well as depression and panic attacks."[26]
On November 8, 2021, a video was discovered of Arnette in which he brandished firearms and was making death threats. This video led to his release from the Raiders.[27]
On January 29, 2022, Arnette was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and two counts of possession of controlled substances.[28]
NFL career statistics
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Tot | TFL | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FF | FR | ||
2020 | LVR | 9 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 25 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | LVR | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 13 | 7 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
References
- Landis, Bill (August 28, 2019). "The hard truths that brought Damon Arnette back to Ohio State". The Athletic. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Rabinowitz, Bill (November 8, 2019). "How waiting has paid off for Ohio State's Damon Arnette". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Taylor, Nate (February 2, 2015). "Ohio State earns commitment from Thomas Aquinas CB Damon Arnette". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Haritz, Ian (October 31, 2016). "Ohio State's Raekwon McMillan is making game-changing plays on a weekly basis". LandGrantHolyLand.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Murphy, Patrick (June 8, 2018). "Damon Arnette is ready to emerge as the next Buckeye CB star". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Bielik, Tim (November 28, 2017). "Bosa, Lewis, Ward named first-team All-Big Ten". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Hartman, Marcus (August 7, 2019). "Ohio State football: Damon Arnette back to rewrite his story, boost Buckeyes secondary". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- "12 Ohio State defenders earn All-Big Ten honors". WKRC.com. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Helwagen, Steve (January 11, 2019). "After considering NFL jump, Arnette opts to return to Ohio State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Baird, Nathan (September 18, 2019). "Ohio State football's Damon Arnette backing up his decision to remain a Buckeye". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- Murphy, Patrick (December 3, 2019). "Seven Buckeyes receive All-Big Ten honors". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
- Rowland, Kyle (December 7, 2019). "Broken wrist no problem for Ohio State's Arnette". The Blade. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
- Goul, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Damon Arnette, Ohio State CB: 2020 NFL Draft profile". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- "Damon Arnette". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- "Damon Arnette Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- White, R.J. (April 23, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft grades: Raiders get a 'B' for selecting Damon Arnette at No. 19 overall". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- "Raiders place CB Damon Arnette and DT Daniel Ross on IR". Raiders.com. October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- Mosher, Marcus (October 19, 2020). "Raiders place rookie CB Damon Arnette on Reserve/COVID-19". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- "Raiders' Damon Arnette: Clears COVID-19 protocols". CBSSports.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- Damien, Levi (November 14, 2020). "Raiders activate starting CB Damon Arnette from injured reserve". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- "Arnette, Mullen Jr. and Carrier placed on IR". Raiders.com. October 9, 2021.
- "Raiders releasing former first-round CB Damon Arnette". NFL.com. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- "Roster Moves: Dolphins Elevate S Redwine as COVID-19 Replacement, Sign CB Arnette to Practice Squad". MiamiDolphins.com. December 15, 2021.
- "Chiefs sign defensive end to practice squad, former first-round cornerback to futures deal". Arrowhead Pride. SB Nation. January 20, 2022.
- "Chiefs cut Damon Arnette after arrest". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. January 29, 2022.
- "Raiders CB Damon Arnette accused of injuring woman in 2020 car crash". November 6, 2021.
- "Raiders releasing former first-round CB Damon Arnette". NFL.com. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- "Chiefs cut Damon Arnette after arrest". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. January 29, 2022.
- "Damon Arnette, Pro". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2021.