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Lions player Terrion Arnold may not start in Week 1 if injury persists

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Aaron Glenn has a pretty good idea what Terrion Arnold will bring to the Detroit Lions defense this season, but the Lions' four-year defensive coordinator has declined to say whether Arnold will start at cornerback in Week 1 when training camp is over because of his pectoral injury.

“I can't say,” Glenn said Wednesday in Allen Park. “We'll have to wait and see what happens.”

Arnold left Monday's practice with what the team called an upper-body injury and did not participate in Wednesday's practice, spending the first part of the practice working part-time in a rehab group with trainers.

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Lions coach Dan Campbell downplayed Arnold's injury in a radio interview Wednesday. Although the rookie is not expected to miss any time in the regular season, it is unclear whether he will play in Saturday's preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs or next week's final exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Arnold has worked extensively with the first-team defense this summer, and Campbell told WXYT-FM (97.1) that the Lions' first-round pick had “a good training camp” before his injury.

Carlton Davis, the Lions' other projected cornerback, is out with a hamstring injury but is expected to be back for the Lions' opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 8. Rookie Ennis Rakestraw, drafted in the second round, also left practice Monday with an ankle injury. Kindle Vildor and Khalil Dorsey took most of the first-team cornerback duties Wednesday.

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Arnold is expected to play a key role in the Lions' revamped secondary this fall and winter. He excelled in man coverage in college and continued to perform excellently in spring practice following the draft, though Campbell has said he and the rest of the Lions' defensive backfield need more time together to prepare for the regular season.

That was difficult to achieve due to a series of injuries. In addition to Arnold, Davis and Rakestraw, safety Brian Branch did not practice on Wednesday and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley is out indefinitely with a torn pectoral muscle.

Glenn said both Arnold and Rakestraw have the mindset to be influential players as rookies.

“Defense is all about attitude and those are the guys we're trying to recruit for this team,” Glenn said. “And you see the different personalities. TATA talks a lot, but he has the attitude to go out there and play man coverage. Ennis doesn't talk a lot, but you see that dog in him. So basically those guys are the same, but they just have different personalities. But attitude has everything to do with defense.”

He said he was pleased with what Arnold has shown so far, even though the rookie is still developing.

“From college, we know he can go out there and play man coverage,” Glenn said. “I mean, if you go out there and play in any Nick Saban defense (at Alabama), you have to be able to do that, so it's kind of comparable to what we do. So yeah, we've seen enough, but he's not where he needs to be yet. He still has a lot of improvement to make, and man, when he comes back from that injury, he's got to go out there and get to work and keep working.”

Contact Dave Birkett at [email protected]Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

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