Former First-Round CB Damon Arnette Pursuing NFL Comeback After UFL Season

Former Raiders first-round CB Damon Arnette is aiming to make an NFL comeback following the current UFL season. Arnette plays for the Houston Roughnecks and has had a solid season.

More importantly, he says he’s matured and addressed the repeated off-field issues that led to him flaming out of the NFL. Arnette was arrested three times, the most recent in January of 2024, and hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2021. 

“I’m 28 years old right now with three kids, with a mom and dad that loves me and has my back right now,” Arnette said via Aaron Wilson. “With coaches, I feel like I’ve proved a complete turnaround. All the coaches that have been with me right now, I feel like their words would be more valuable because I’ve said a lot of things in the past. What I would say is what they see on film, that’s me being out of commission for three years.

“I’m a dawg on the field. I’m more of a professional now than I ever was before. I wasn’t a professional before. I was just a dawg. I found professionalism and a calm state of mind. I feel like I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.”

Arnette was looking to play in the spring league last year and revive his career, but his 2024 arrest made the league wary of bringing him in. UFL EVP of football operations Daryl Johnston said Arnette proved over the next year he deserved another shot. 

“I think the big thing last year is he wasn’t separated far enough from it for us, he had another little bump in the road,” Johnston said. “I thought he made a great decision last year. If you want this opportunity, we’re going to give you time to show you deserve it. The first time I met him, his appearance even, you see a completely different Damon Arnette. Very professional. He was remorseful for everything that happened. When I talked to everybody in his family, to every coach on his football journey to people I knew in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area who were mentoring him, everybody I talked to said he was genuinely changed and had a real honest sense of remorse. I asked everybody what happened to him. They said it was perfect timing. You get a first-round contract and you allow all the wrong people to come into your life and you walk away from the right people. The hardest lesson he had to learn.

“From the people I talk to in Houston, they all talk about his growth, his involvement in the community. He’s understanding the message. We talk to all of our players in Damon’s situation there’s an issue or reason why the NFL isn’t allowing them back in or will challenge them to earn their way back in. When we dig into that one thing, it’s you have to be professional in everything you do. The football part is the easy part. He’s a first-round draft pick. Why are you here with us? It’s the little things. It’s being accountable, It’s being on time. It’s understanding the priorities every day. Athletic ability will only take you so far. Your knowledge and passion for the game has to be present every day. That’s what will allow us to say when the NFL asks us about Damon Arnette and what our thoughts are on him, about his growth as a man.

“In the NFL, they won’t wait for you. They will just move on. You need to not just be a good football player, you need to be a good man.”

Arnette, 28, was selected with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Raiders. He agreed to a four-year, $13,418,540 rookie contract that included a $7,318,938 signing bonus.

However, Las Vegas elected to cut Arnette loose when it was discovered he was facing multiple lawsuits due to a car accident and threatening someone with a firearm. From there, he caught on with the Dolphins practice squad during the 2021 season and eventually joined the Chiefs on a futures contract for the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, Arnette was arrested in Las Vegas back in 2022 for assault with a deadly weapon and was subsequently released by Kansas City. 

For his career, Arnette has appeared in 13 games for the Raiders and recorded 29 total tackles, no interceptions, and three pass defenses.