The Raiders were not among the four teams Terrion Arnold’s agent named in court Friday as having interest in signing the free agent cornerback.
That matters because a Los Angeles radio host said last week that the “streets are talking” and that Las Vegas was believed to be one of four teams in the mix for Arnold. But when the names finally came out, the Raiders were nowhere on the list. Instead, Arnold’s agent said the teams showing interest are the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks.
The update came during Friday’s court hearing, after Arnold’s attorney had already said earlier this week in a Florida court that three NFL teams had reached out to Arnold’s representatives about signing the former first round pick, without identifying them.
Arnold has spent the past two weeks defending himself against a host of felony charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.
For Las Vegas, the idea of pursuing him never looked especially likely. The Raiders made significant investments at cornerback this offseason, and bringing in Arnold would cut into the opportunities available to Darien Porter, Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses.
There’s also a good chance that at least one of the teams tied to Arnold is simply helping out a player or agent by allowing its name to be mentioned in court. That kind of thing happens in the NFL more often than people admit.
As things stand, Porter appears to have a slight edge to start at cornerback opposite Eric Stokes. Even so, McCoy is the one drawing real buzz as a possible challenger for that job once training camp and preseason get rolling.
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