The Seattle Seahawks officially signed free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold over the weekend. Afterward, teh NFL put Arnold on the Commisioner’s exempt list as he handles the eight felony charges stemming from an alleged kidnapping and armed robbery that happened earlier this year in Florida.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider was asked about the decision to sign Arnold and shared the character background check that the team did before signing the former Lions cornerback.
“There is a ton of different factors that went into it,” Schneider told reporters after the roster cutdown deadline on Aug. 30. “Obviously, the legal stuff has to take care of itself, and we totally respect that. There are tons of different buckets to this situation. Just the advocates that we had, you know. We traded for Leon Washington the first year that we were here, and he’s basically like his father.
“Leon [Washington] will always be a legend here, and he has a great relationship with the organization. The character just didn’t really fit with the allegations and everybody we’ve talked to. But yes, there’s a long-term play. This isn’t a, ‘Let’s see how quickly we can get this done.’ Let’s get him in the building and see how it goes.”
Last season with the Lions, Arnold played 312 total snaps on defense. He recorded one interception, broke up four passes in coverage, and allowed an 88.6 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks.
Arnold also surrendered 23 receptions in coverage and contributed 28 solo tackles in run support.
If Arnold is convicted, he’ll likely never play for the Seahawks but rather than letting the legal process play out, the Seahawks opted to give Arnold a second chance.
