Terrion Arnold latest Detroit Lions to go down, hitting injured reserve with a shoulder injury

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Allen Park — Between the regular season and playoffs, Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold logged more than 1,000 snaps as a rookie in 2024. A year later, that durability abandoned the defender.

After battling various injuries from training camp through the regular season, Arnold is headed to injured reserve with a shoulder injury, presumably related to the one that sidelined him two games and parts of two others earlier this season.

Arnold’s injury woes began in training camp when he missed time due to a hamstring strain. He popped up with a groin strain ahead of the team’s Week 2 game, then suffered the shoulder injury in Week 4. He managed to remain in the lineup the following week, but reaggravated it, and there was some early speculation that it would be season-ending.

Instead, Arnold returned to action after the team’s bye only to suffer a concussion two weeks later, shelving him for another two games. He cleared protocol for last Thursday’s matchup against the Packers, but was limited to 17 snaps in the loss.

There wasn’t an obvious moment when he suffered the shoulder injury. He had a thumping hit where he led with his shoulder during a third-down tackle in the first quarter. He also landed hard on his side while trying to make a stop short of the goal line on a touchdown catch late in the third quarter.

Regardless, Arnold continued to see work until the closing stages of the contest, last repping on a third down during the team’s final drive.

With Arnold out, the Lions will continue to lean on Amik Robertson on the outside. Previously, Arthur Maulet had backfilled Robertson’s role as the nickel cornerback, but Maulet has since been released. Robertson could still slide inside on nickel snaps, with Rock-Ya Sin playing outside in that package.

Although this move likely signifies Arnold is done for the year, he’s technically eligible to return to action after four games, which would coincide with the regular season finale.

If his year is over, Arnold played in eight games, breaking up eight passes and recording his first career interception.

Transactions

To address some depth issues, the Lions added three players to the practice squad the past two days — running back Jabari Small, tight end Giovanni Ricci and wide receiver Andrew Armstrong.

Small, a UDFA out of Tennessee, spent three weeks with the Lions during training camp.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Ricci, a Western Michigan alum, appeared in 36 games for the Panthers from 2021-23, logging more than 600 special teams snaps on top of a small offensive role.

Armstrong is a big-bodied, athletic receiver out of Arkansas. The former Isaac TeSlaa teammate is 6-foot-4, 202 pounds. He showed impressive speed and leaping ability during the pre-draft process after catching 78 passes for 1,140 yards for the Razorbacks last season.

Armstrong spent the offseason with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent.

Pro Bowl voting

Detroit had 11 players appear in the top 10 at their position in the first batch of fan balloting for this year’s Pro Bowl. The fan vote continues through Dec. 23 and counts for one-third of the selection process, with player and coach voting making up the remaining two-thirds.

Aidan Hutchinson (third for defensive ends)

Kerby Joseph (third for free safety)

Jack Campbell (first for inside linebacker)

Brian Branch (second for strong safety)

Penei Sewell (first for offensive tackle)

Graham Glasgow (seventh for center)

Jahmyr Gibbs (second for running back)

Amon-Ra St. Brown (fourth for wide receiver)

Sam LaPorta (ninth for tight end)

Jack Fox (second for punter)

Hogan Hatten (tenth for long snapper)