Damon Arnette is no longer a Las Vegas Raider.
The team elected to release the 2020 first-round pick on Monday following a couple of unsavory headlines for the former Ohio State cornerback this weekend including a video depicting Arnette holding guns and making death threats and a hit-and-run accusation.
Source: The #Raiders are releasing former first-round draft pick CB Damon Arnette.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 8, 2021
The move comes after a video surfaced this week showing Arnette brandishing multiple firearms while making death threats. “I swear to God I will kill you,” Arnette said in the NSFW video while holding a gun.
Additionally, news broke this week that Arnette is facing a hit-and-run accusation from a 2020 incident that left a woman unconscious and with $92,000 in medical bills, according to CBS Sports. Arnette was allegedly traveling “at a very high rate” of speed to “avoid being late for a meeting” at Raiders headquarters.
Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said Monday that it was a “very painful decision” to release Arnette, but one that they felt was necessary.
“We spent significant time, effort and resources trying to help him in all aspects of his life,” Mayock said Monday, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “We cannot stand for the video of Damon with a gun, threatening to take a life.”
Arnette played at Ohio State from 2015-19, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors as a fifth-year senior in 2019, when he had his best season as a Buckeye in his lone season under the tutelage of former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley.
The Raiders selected Arnette with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Arnette appeared in nine games with seven starts and recorded 25 total tackles with two pass breakups. He had appeared in four games with no starts this season, in which he recorded four tackles and one pass breakup, before the Raiders released him.
