Raiders cut Damon death threats
The Las Vegas Raiders have released second-year corner Damon Arnette, a 2020 first-round draft pick, after a video surfaced this weekend of him making death threats while teaching firearms.
Arnette, 25, had been on the injured reserve list since Oct. 9. He is also facing charges for a car accident in Las Vegas last October.
“A very painful decision,” Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said on a conference call. “We spent significant time, effort, and resources, trying to help him in all aspects of his life.
“There have been a series of bad decisions over the last year or so, but we can’t stand, we can’t stand the video of Damon with a gun, threatening to take a life. The content was unacceptable, contrary to our values and our owner Mark Davis has been very clear and very consistent that this is not the way we are going to conduct ourselves in the community. The bottom line, the Raiders are not going to tolerate this kind of conduct.”
Mayock added that he has spoken with Arnette, his father, and others in his life, and “from my perspective, he’s a very talented young man with a good heart. If he cleans up his life, I know he can make a living in the NFL. But not now, not with the Raiders.”
A surprise selection in the No. 19 round out of Ohio State, Arnette played in just 13 games, with seven starts, since the start of last season, and recorded a total of three passes defended and 29 tackles, 23 of them solo.
Mayock admitted there was “significant concern” about Arnette’s character coming out of collegiate, but the Raiders felt they could help him on and off the field, and they knew the Ohio State coaches well enough to trust their advice and select Arnette.
“At the time, we felt it was an acceptable risk … After researching Arnette more than anyone else in the years we’ve been here. And obviously, we failed, and that’s 100 percent my fault.”
Mayock was asked about the perception of young players in a 24-hour city like Las Vegas, and he said there is always the perception of how a player “fits in” to a community.
“Can a country kid live in a big city, or vice versa? … We do have to be aware of Vegas. But my thing is, in almost any medium to large city in the country, if you want to find problems, you’re going to find them. And our job is to find guys who can overcome that.”
The Raiders last week released wide receiver Henry Ruggs III after his crash took the lives of 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog, and has Ruggs facing a charge of driving under the influence causing death, and careless driving, with a possible sentence of up to 46 years in prison.
Ruggs and Arnette were the Raiders’ first two selections in 2020.
Also, they had three third-round draft picks: running back Lynn Bowden Jr. who was traded before the start of the 2020 campaign; wide receiver Bryan Edwards, who is a starter but did not catch a pass in four opportunities Sunday during Las Vegas’ 23-16 loss to the New York Giants; and linebacker Tanner Muse, who spent his rookie campaign on the injured reserve list and was released before the start of the current season.
The two fourth-round draft picks that year for the Raiders were offensive lineman John Simpson, a starter at left guard, and corner Amik Robertson, deactivated without injury against the Giants.
In addition, on Monday, Mayock confirmed that the Raiders had signed DeSean Jackson, as the wide receiver had indicated on Sunday.
“He signed his contract a short time ago. He’s a Raider. He’s a Bay Area guy who also attended Cal. He told us … on our Zoom call the other day, he looked good in black and silver,” Mayock referenced.
