HOUSTON \u2013 Inside the lobby of the Houston Roughnecks team hotel Friday evening, Damon Arnette Jr. contemplated the question, smiling while reflecting on his extremely complicated journey back to playing professional football again.<\/p>\n
Why should an NFL team invest in him and ultimately trust the former Las Vegas Raiders first-round draft pick and starting cornerback with an opportunity? Several NFL teams have already been in touch with the Roughnecks to make inquiries about Arnette.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 28 years old right now with three kids, with a mom and dad that loves me and has my back right now,\u201d Arnette told KPRC 2 following community event where he read to and encouraged students at the Houston Public Library. \u201cWith coaches, I feel like I\u2019ve 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\u2019ve said a lot of things in the past. What I would say is what they see on film, that\u2019s me being out of commission for three years, <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a dawg on the field. I\u2019m more of a professional now than I ever was before. I wasn\u2019t a professional before. I was just a dawg. I found professionalism and a calm state of mind. I feel like I\u2019m the best version of myself that I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Arnette, his path to playing and excelling for the Roughnecks has involved a major reordering of his life after hitting rock bottom personally and professionally because of a series of legal and personal issues. A father of two daughters and one son, Arnette expressed gratitude to Roughnecks coach Curtis Johnson and UFL executive vice president of football operations Daryl Johnston for granting him a second chance after informing him a year ago he wouldn\u2019t be allowed to play in the league.<\/p>\n
A year ago, the answer was a firm no when Arnette sought a chance to play in the UFL. The answer changed, he believes, because he displayed maturity and determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne, I had to take a look in the mirror,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cI had to make some serious life changes. And the main thing that I did was I invited back my support system, my foundation, and that\u2019s probably something I will never let go of again because I see how dangerous it is to be trying to navigate in a new world, new environment, new situations with no experience. So, I definitely learn from that end. I said to coach Johnston, I needed him to tell me no, that I couldn\u2019t play.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat hurt my heart, you know what I\u2019m saying? Because I\u2019m thinking I\u2019m doing everything right, but obviously I wasn\u2019t because things just kept happening and I had nobody to blame but myself. I\u2019m always thankful for coach C.J. and coach Johnston. It was just a blessing to be here.”<\/p>\n
From the standpoint of Johnston and the league, they wanted to be assured that Arnett was truly ready for this second chance.<\/p>\n
Once Johnston performed his due diligence, his confidence grew in Arnette that he could be counted on. Now, he\u2019s feeling great about the decisions on his status this year and a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the big thing last year is he wasn\u2019t separated far enough from it for us, he had another little bump in the road,\u201d Johnston said in a telephone interview. \u201cI thought he made a great decision last year. If you want this opportunity, we\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the people I talk to in Houston, they all talk about his growth, his involvement in the community. He\u2019s understanding the message. We talk to all of our players in Damon\u2019s situation there\u2019s an issue or reason why the NFL isn\u2019t allowing them back in or will challenge them to earn their way back in. When we dig into that one thing it\u2019s you have to be professional in everything you do. The football part is the easy part. He\u2019s a first-round draft pick. Why are you here with us? It\u2019s the little things. It\u2019s being accountable, It\u2019s being on time. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Against the Birmingham Stallions last week, Arnette, 28, displayed the talent and skills that made him an NFL first-round draft pick. He adeptly read a sideline pass, undercutting the throw and scooted 51 yards into the end zone for his first touchdown since a 97-yard return against Indiana for the Ohio State Buckeyes. <\/p>\n
Arnette is making a strong bid for a potential second chance in the NFL, recording 14 solo tackles and ranking second on the team with five pass breakups. <\/p>\n
He received a 90.2 Pro Football Focus pass coverage grade, the highest in the UFL a week ago.<\/p>\n
The interception was emblematic of the potential Arnette holds and why Roughnecks secondary coach Brett Maxie, a former NFL defensive back, is confident in his ability to play in the NFL again.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that play, it was just a simple outside release, had good eye discipline,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cI was locked in on his hips. As soon as I seen he was about to dip to break down, I gave him a nudge, which caused him to step off balance, and slip out of bounds. And I just turned around and looked for the ball and it was right there. So, it was a good timing, you know what I\u2019m saying? It was the right place at the right time, the rush was coming. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe got the ball out quick. And I just happened to be there. It felt good. It reminded me of what it felt like to be a part of a team that cared about winning, that worked hard. Just to play the game, taken away from me for a little bit, so just being able to go out there and enjoy playing football again, it was a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selected 19th overall by Las Vegas in 2020 out of Ohio State, Arnette was released on Nov. 8, 2021 after a video surfaced of the former Buckeyes standout brandishing firearms and making death threats. Although Arnette has had a brief stints with the Miami Dolphins on a practice squad that year, he wasn\u2019t signed to a new deal when his contract expired after the season.<\/p>\n
His last NFL game was in 2021 with the Raiders, appearing in 13 career games overall and recording 29 tackles, one for a loss and three passes defensed.<\/p>\n
He was signed to a reserve-future deal by the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 20, 2022, but was released just nine days late because of an arrest for assault with a deadly weapon charges, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and two counts of possession of controlled substances in Las Vegas. Initially, no criminal charges were filed. Roughly a year later, a grand jury indicted him and Arnette agreed to a plea bargain and received 50 hours of community service and $2,000 in fines.<\/p>\n
Arnette has stayed out of trouble with the law over the past year, following an arrest for possession of methamphetamine and unlawful carrying of a firearm in January of 2024 in Richardson, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Arnette\u2019s lawyers released a statement explaining that he was unable to provide law enforcement with his legal prescription for medication at the time and wouldn\u2019t been arrested for either charge if he had the documentation with him at the time.<\/p>\n
Why has Arnette had so many issues? His explanation: It\u2019s complicated, but primarily goes back to needing to grow up and be consistent in his actions as he navigated life, football and mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being an amateur to life, I like to look at myself as being protected and sheltered a lot because of football and when I got into the professional world we had Covid and certain things going on that didn\u2019t allow certain leadership to take control of me, which again I should have control of myself and I should have my foundation, my support system around which was my doing of not having it,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cAnd then the world\u2019s doing Covid, it was just bad timing. I learned a lot, though. Me being where I am now, I wouldn\u2019t change anything because who I am today right now I feel like I needed literally needed to go through everything that I went through to be as wise as I feel like I am right now.”<\/p>\n
The focus, and the appreciation for the game, that\u2019s coming naturally to Arnette. He doesn\u2019t want to think too far ahead about the NFL. His responsibility he holds right now is lining up for the Roughnecks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy for me to stay in the moment because. I had to work so hard to get here,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cJust being able to play football again on any level. is the best opportunity and best gift that God could have rewarded me with with all the right decisions that I feel like I\u2019ve been making. I didn\u2019t want anything but a Gatorade squirt bottle and a helmet. When I talked to coach CJ, when he said that I can finally come back. I was like, \u2018Man, I just want a Gatorade bottle. I haven\u2019t used a Gatorade Squirt bottle in a long time.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the little things about the game that you miss the most, that you take for granted. So, it\u2019s easy for me to stay in the moment, That\u2019s all I\u2019m thinking about right now, is this game and then the game after that, and the game after that. I want to win this whole thing for coach CJ because I just feel like I\u2019m a part of this family right now and this is the only thing that matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
By stacking days, games and performances, Arnette is hopeful that he\u2019ll receive another opportunity. He is eligible to do so. It\u2019s up to whether another NFL team will ultimately give him a chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so proud of Damon,\u201d veteran agent Steve Weinberg said. \u201cHe easily could have fallen off the radar. Instead, he\u2019s worked extra hard to turn his life around to where NFL teams should notice. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be a free agent in two weeks, eligible to sign with an NFL team in time for veteran minicamps in June. As NFL teams know, corners are like pitchers in baseball, you can never have enough cornerbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden, Arnette\u2019s coach in Las Vegas, remains a supporter. They talk frequently, including before the last game when he intercepted a pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I reach out, we reach out to each other often,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cYou know, that\u2019s my guy, and he loves me. He\u2019s never left my side. And his words of wisdom, each week I call him before the games and stuff, and one thing he said to me before last week\u2019s games that he wanted to see uncommon effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took it as is and he hasn\u2019t seen it from me yet in the league. So going into last week\u2019s game, I had like an extra kick of motivation hearing it from him because I was trying to make him proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a father of three, Arnette is extremely motivated to provide for his children and give them emotional and financial security. It\u2019s a driving force for the Dallas native.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, because my kids deserve everything that I\u2019m able to offer them and they didn\u2019t ask to be here,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cThey\u2019re innocent and they\u2019re my responsibility. So, if I have the ability or the potential to provide them with a life that I never had, it\u2019s my job to give it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arnette said he found something else throughout his twisted path back to professional football: his spirituality and faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, my faith in God is unbelievable because even when things were bad, He was always there for me,\u201d Arnette said. \u201cGod, I strayed away and I found myself on my knees one night I had to realize that I had take steps forward myself, that nobody was going to pull me out of anything. So, once I started making the right decisions, then I started seeing the blessings that were always there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxie has seen a lot of positive signs from Arnette, on and off the field. He said that Arnette is one of the first players to arrive for work, typically by 6 a.m. every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now I\u2019m seeing what I anticipated,\u201d Maxie said. \u201cWhen I knew he was going to be a part of our team, he\u2019s a former first-round draftee, and that\u2019s what a former first-round draft pick is. They make plays very confidently. And he\u2019s an unbelievably talented athlete. He\u2019s doing all the right things to put himself in position to get back to the NFL. And he belongs there. He really belongs there. He\u2019s one of the first guys in the building because I\u2019m like the first guy in the building, he\u2019s the first player I see every morning. <\/p>\n
“I see great things happening for him after this season. I\u2019m certainly pulling for him in every direction that I possibly can. He\u2019s been first-class. He\u2019s gonna earn it. And I think he\u2019s going to appreciate it more now than he did four years ago after he was drafted. We all have our seasons in our lives. He\u2019s going to benefit from the things he\u2019s learning now. He\u2019s been around good people. Not very many people get a second chance. And he\u2019s doing it at the right age where he\u2019s still athletically gifted and plays the position at a very, very high level.”<\/p>\n