The Seattle Seahawks have been nearly flawless with their roster construction. From bringing in Sam Darnold as the quarterback to a defense that was downright lethal last season, it helped them win the second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Now, their defense of that championship begins. So far this offseason, the team has been steady with its decision-making. However, in the case of Terrion Arnold, they’re trying to be extremely cautious or extremely smart, depending on one’s perspective.
Seahawks Trying to Make the Best of the Terrion Arnold Situation
A first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Arnold is facing eight felony counts, which include kidnapping, armed robbery, and conspiracy. After turning himself in for the crimes, he maintained his innocence against the crimes.
However, the Detroit Lions didn’t want to deal with the drama. As a result, they cut him before the Seahawks decided to swoop in to sign him to a one-year deal. Understandably, the move was heavily criticized given the nature of the allegations against him.
But so far, an official contract hasn’t been signed. As a result, The Athletic broke down the timeline of events surrounding this weird signing, while also providing theories on why the Seahawks are taking their due time with the contract.
“Macdonald said on Aug. 14 the team had an agreement in place to sign Arnold, who was released by the Detroit Lions in June. Some believe Arnold will be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at some point after he is signed, disallowing him from participating in regular-season games until his October court date, at the earliest.”
However, the speculation from sources inside the league and executives tells a different story.
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As the publication confirmed, they’d gotten multiple reports detailing what the timeline could look like for Arnold.
“One team and one league source, each speaking on condition of anonymity since neither is authorized to discuss the deal publicly, told The Athletic they believe Arnold will be signed around or after the final preseason game is played this weekend.”
The decision to wait that long could be relatively simple. The commissioner’s exempt list will decide when Arnold gets counted against the roster.
While he could be immediately placed on it and get some valuable practice time with the team, especially in the preseason, the alternative isn’t as seamless.
If the NFL takes time to make that choice, then the young cornerback could count against their roster spot, even though it is virtually guaranteed that he won’t be available for the first week of the season.
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However, there is one more avenue that The Athletic theorized could be the reason for the Seahawks trying to delay the signing to add another cornerback bursting with potential to the defense that was at the top of the PFN’s Defense Impact Metrics.
“Another potential issue is ‘Hard Knocks.’ The HBO series, produced by NFL Films, has already captured the Seahawks discussing the future transaction, with [John] Schneider admitting they ‘probably’ would have released Arnold if they were in the Lions’ position.”
Signing him after the preseason could allow them to bypass that problem entirely. “Hard Knocks typically concludes its season with an episode focused on roster cutdowns. If Arnold isn’t on the team when filming wraps, the Seahawks and the league can avoid having the storyline play out on camera.”
As a result, they could get the most seamless experience possible if they wait this out as long as possible. That isn’t going to save them from whatever time the NFL decides for Arnold. But it could save the Seahawks a ton of trouble.
“If the Seahawks wait until after final roster cuts, there will be no cameras and no roster gymnastics. Seattle could sign Arnold to the practice squad, where he could sit until there is further clarity from the league regarding the exempt list.”
It remains to be seen if the alleged direction is the one the organization ends up taking. But after exercising patience for so long, it does seem like the next natural step to ensure that they can have their best possible roster heading into the season as defending champions.
