Analysis: Why Did Seahawks Roll Dice on CB Terrion Arnold Amid Legal Issues?

Mere moments after completing a competitive padded practice on August 10, Mike Macdonald knew questions would be coming his way on the Seattle Seahawks reported interest in embattled cornerback Terrion Arnold.

Before the reporter who first broached the topic could even finish asking about the former Lions first round pick, mistakingly calling Arnold “Terrion Austin” instead, Macdonald politely corrected him with a smile and quickly addressed the issue at hand. Just one day after the Seahawks brought him in for a visit, the coach confirmed the tryout, dishing out an answer that opened many eyes and indicated that the franchise had more than just cursory interest in the player.

“It’s enough right now,” Macdonald said. “We had him in for a great visit, a great tryout. It’s a situation where there’s other things surrounding it as well, we’re aware of that. We’re working through the situation right now. I enjoyed meeting him and he enjoyed being here, we’ll see how it goes.”

Only two days later, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seahawks and Arnold have a deal in place with the third-year cornerback expected to sign and join his new team in coming days. Despite being recently charged with eight felonies stemming from an incident in Florida back in February, including four counts of kidnapping and four counts of robbery, as general manager John Schneider hinted on the second episode of Hard Knocks, the expectation within the building is that the former Alabama standout will be able to play in the preseason.