Damon Arnette
refer to caption
Arnette with Ohio State in 2018
Personal information
Born: (1996-09-02) September 2, 1996 (age 26)
Dallas, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Thomas Aquinas
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
College:Ohio State (2015–2019)
Position:Cornerback
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Total tackles:29
Pass deflections:3
Player stats at NFL.com

Damon Arnette (born September 2, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent, and an American rapper. He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early years and high school

Arnette was born in Dallas, Texas and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when he was three years old.[1] He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where he played linebacker and wide receiver for the Raiders.[2] He was named honorable mention Class 8A-7A-6A All-County as a senior and helped lead the team to a state championship. Rated a three-star recruit, Arnette originally committed to play college football at South Carolina during the summer going into his senior year before changing his commitment to Ohio State on national signing day.[3]

College career

Arnette redshirted his true freshman season after a bone chip was discovered in his tibia during training camp.[2] He played in 13 of Ohio State's games the following season as a key reserve at defensive back and recorded 21 tackles with one interception.[4] As a redshirt sophomore, Arnette started 12 of the Buckeyes 14 games and led the team's cornerbacks with 44 tackles with two interceptions and eight passes broken up and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.[5][6] Arnette was again named honorable mention as a junior, 40 tackles and one interception in 13 games played.[7][8] Arnette originally planned to leave school and forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL draft, but eventually decided to return to Ohio State for his final year of eligibility.[9]

Arnette scored his first career touchdown on September 14, 2019 on a 97-yard interception return against Indiana.[10] Arnette was named second-team All-Big Ten at the end of the season, recording 35 tackles, eight passes defended and one interception while playing with a broken wrist.[11][12][13]

College statistics

College football statistics[14]
Season Team Class GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Tot TFL Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FF FR
2016 Ohio State FR 11 11 10 21 0.0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2017 Ohio State SO 12 35 9 44 3.0 0.0 2 35 17.5 0 8 1 1
2018 Ohio State JR 13 31 9 40 0.0 0.0 1 1 1.0 0 6 0 0
2019 Ohio State SR 11 27 8 35 1.0 0.0 1 96 96.0 1 8 1 0
Career 47 104 36 140 4.0 0.0 5 132 26.4 1 22 2 1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash
5 ft 11+5⁄8 in
(1.82 m) 		195 lb
(88 kg) 		30 in
(0.76 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.56 s
All values from NFL Combine[15]

Las Vegas Raiders

Arnette was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round with the 19th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.[16] The Raiders previously obtained the 19th selection as part of the trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in 2018. He was placed on injured reserve on October 2, 2020 with a thumb injury.[17] He was moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 19,[18] and was moved back to injured reserve on October 30.[19] He was activated to the active roster on November 14, 2020.[20]

Arnette entered the 2021 season as a backup cornerback behind Trayvon Mullen and Casey Hayward. He suffered a groin injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve.[21] The Raiders released him on November 8, 2021, after the discovery of a video showing him brandishing firearms and making death threats.[22]

Miami Dolphins

On December 15, 2021, Arnette was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad.[23] His contract expired when the team's season ended on January 9, 2022.

Kansas City Chiefs

Arnette signed a reserve/futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on January 20, 2022.[24] He was released on January 29, 2022 after he was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and two counts of possession of controlled substances in Las Vegas.[25]

Personal life

Arnette is also a rapper under the stage name NWG Suave.[26]

Legal issues

On November 5, 2021, Arnette was accused of injuring a woman in a 2020 car crash. On October 14, 2020, Arnette allegedly slammed into the woman's car after missing a turn on the way to team practice, then left the scene. The crash occurred with Arnette traveling at 65 miles per hour, which allegedly caused the woman "head trauma" and "shoulder, neck, and back pain as well as depression and panic attacks."[27]

On November 8, 2021, a video was discovered of Arnette in which he brandished firearms and was making death threats. This video led to his release from the Raiders.[22]

On January 29, 2022, Arnette was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and two counts of possession of controlled substances.[25] On July 25, 2022, Las Vegas authorities announced no criminal charges would be filed.[28]

On the night of July 25, 2022, Arnette was pulled over and found to have a suspended license. He was released with the police allowing the passenger to drive the vehicle. Hours later, shortly after midnight on July 26, 2022 Arnette was again pulled over driving the same vehicle, and this time was placed under arrest and charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license. He was later released on bond.[29]

NFL career statistics

NFL statistics[30]
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Solo Ast Tot TFL Sck Int Yds TD PD FF FR
2020 LVR 9 7 21 4 25 1 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2021 LVR 4 0 2 2 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Career 13 7 23 6 29 1 0.0 0 0 0 4 0 0

References

  1. ^ Landis, Bill (August 28, 2019). "The hard truths that brought Damon Arnette back to Ohio State". The Athletic. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Rabinowitz, Bill (November 8, 2019). "How waiting has paid off for Ohio State's Damon Arnette". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Taylor, Nate (February 2, 2015). "Ohio State earns commitment from Thomas Aquinas CB Damon Arnette". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. ^ Haritz, Ian (October 31, 2016). "Ohio State's Raekwon McMillan is making game-changing plays on a weekly basis". LandGrantHolyLand.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Murphy, Patrick (June 8, 2018). "Damon Arnette is ready to emerge as the next Buckeye CB star". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Bielik, Tim (November 28, 2017). "Bosa, Lewis, Ward named first-team All-Big Ten". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Hartman, Marcus (August 7, 2019). "Ohio State football: Damon Arnette back to rewrite his story, boost Buckeyes secondary". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "12 Ohio State defenders earn All-Big Ten honors". WKRC.com. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  9. ^ Helwagen, Steve (January 11, 2019). "After considering NFL jump, Arnette opts to return to Ohio State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  10. ^ Baird, Nathan (September 18, 2019). "Ohio State football's Damon Arnette backing up his decision to remain a Buckeye". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  11. ^ Murphy, Patrick (December 3, 2019). "Seven Buckeyes receive All-Big Ten honors". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Rowland, Kyle (December 7, 2019). "Broken wrist no problem for Ohio State's Arnette". The Blade. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  13. ^ Goul, Matt (March 10, 2020). "Damon Arnette, Ohio State CB: 2020 NFL Draft profile". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  14. ^ "Damon Arnette". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "Damon Arnette Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  16. ^ White, R.J. (April 23, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft grades: Raiders get a 'B' for selecting Damon Arnette at No. 19 overall". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "Raiders place CB Damon Arnette and DT Daniel Ross on IR". Raiders.com. October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  18. ^ Mosher, Marcus (October 19, 2020). "Raiders place rookie CB Damon Arnette on Reserve/COVID-19". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "Raiders' Damon Arnette: Clears COVID-19 protocols". CBSSports.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  20. ^ Damien, Levi (November 14, 2020). "Raiders activate starting CB Damon Arnette from injured reserve". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "Arnette, Mullen Jr. and Carrier placed on IR". Raiders.com. October 9, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Raiders releasing former first-round CB Damon Arnette". NFL.com. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "Roster Moves: Dolphins Elevate S Redwine as COVID-19 Replacement, Sign CB Arnette to Practice Squad". MiamiDolphins.com. December 15, 2021.
  24. ^ "Chiefs sign defensive end to practice squad, former first-round cornerback to futures deal". Arrowhead Pride. SB Nation. January 20, 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Chiefs cut Damon Arnette after arrest". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. January 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "1st Round NFL Draft Pick 1st Round NFL Draft Pick Damon Arnette (NWG Suave) Releases New Single "Netway" Off Upcoming Album 'Misunderstood'". Enigma Online. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  27. ^ "Raiders CB Damon Arnette accused of injuring woman in 2020 car crash". November 6, 2021.
  28. ^ Alper, Josh (July 26, 2022). "No criminal charges filed against Damon Arnette". Pro Football Talk.
  29. ^ Koons, Zach (July 26, 2022). "Former Raiders First-Round Pick Damon Arnette Arrested, per Report". Sports Illustrated.
  30. ^ "Damon Arnette, Pro". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2021.

External links

2020 NFL Draft first-round selections
Las Vegas Raiders first-round draft picks
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 NFL Draft selections
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