Now that cornerback Terrion Arnold is under contract again with an NFL team, the next question is whether the NFL will exercise its prerogative to place him on paid leave.
Arnold faces eight felony charges arising from a February 2026 armed robbery and kidnapping. If convicted, Arnold could be imprisoned for life.
The Seahawks nevertheless signed him on Thursday, at a time when multiple other teams were interested.
The next move will be up to the league office. He could be placed on the Commissioner Exempt list immediately. Or the NFL could wait to do it until the end of the preseason. Or the NFL could choose to not do it at all.
During the latest episode of Hard Knocks, Seahawks G.M. John Schneider told coach Mike Macdonald that assistant G.M. Joey Schneider believes Arnold will be permitted to play in the preseason. This indicates an awareness of the very real possibility that the league will put Arnold on paid leave before Week 1, when the Seahawks host the Patriots in the opening game of the 2026 regular season.
Given the risk that Arnold will end up on paid leave, it's fair to wonder why the Seahawks are rolling the dice on a player who had two so-so seasons after being a first-round pick of the Lions in 2024. If the juice was worth the squeeze, why would the Lions have cut him?
Throw in the fact that the Seahawks could have a new owner in less than two weeks, and it seems like the possibility of an embarrassment outweighs the potential benefit to the team..
Then again, a Super Bowl win gives a team a large stack of chips. As one source with another team put it, "They won and they don't care."
It's also a chance to get an up-close look at Arnold (pending placement on paid leave), in the event he eventually beats the charges and is able to return to the NFL.
Still, barring a sudden decision by the prosecution to dismiss all charges, the decision to sign Arnold is a head-scratcher. As Simms said on Thursday's PFT Live, it could be a product of the simple reality that former first-round picks, like cats, often have nine lives. The more pressing question for Arnold is whether he'll spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.