Today the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks officially signed cornerback Damon Arnette. It’s not the first time we’ve heard his name this year. Or even the past few years. It’s just the first time in a while his name has come up and it hasn’t been a case of ‘oh no, here we go again’.
The past few years have been a rollercoaster ride for Arnette. Despite some red flag behavioral issues while at Ohio State, the Raiders selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Then head coach Jon Gruden thought Arnette’s troubles were behind him. But it soon became clear they were only just beginning.
Arnette was released by the team a couple months into his second season after posting a video on social media brandishing a firearm and threatening someone who he had apparently said something about him online.
Afterward, it came out that Arnette had several traffic incidents, including crashing into a woman’s car while traveling 65 miles per hour and severely injuring her.
He would spend time on the Dolphins practice squad later that season, then signed with the Chiefs in January of 2022, but his time there lasted only a week, because he was arrested again, this time on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and two counts of possession of controlled substances.
He would be arrested again later that year after twice being pulled over while driving with a suspended license. And while he would see his legal troubles play out over the next year or so, he actually managed to not get arrested for about a year and a half before again being arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and unlawful carrying of a firearm.
That was almost a year ago. Now he finds himself back in professional football in the UFL.
Here’s hoping the now 28-year-old can finally stay out of trouble and actually make good on his gifts as a football player.