ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Detroit Lions starting cornerback Terrion Arnold said Wednesday he's "trying to come back as fast as possible" and said he was relieved that his shoulder injury doesn't appear to be season-ending.
After getting a second opinion, the Lions found out that Arnold's shoulder injury isn't as bad as they originally feared, which was a "confidence-lifter" for the second-year cornerback.
"When I first got the news, I wanted to cry," Arnold said. "I just love playing football, being out there with my teammates, and I felt like that last game was kind of like the first game that I actually felt like free.
"I had a lot of off-the-field stuff going on, like family issues and just being able to go out there and let everything go and kind of crediting my coaches."
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Arnold was "going to be out for a long time," even raising the possibility of the injury ending the defensive back's season.
Campbell said it's still unclear when Arnold can return. Arnold missed Wednesday's practice but will likely avoid surgery. The team is working to reduce inflammation while strengthening Arnold's right shoulder.
"The second opinion came back, and it sounds like it could be promising, but that's no guarantee either," Campbell said. "So, we're kind of in this wait and see, and we'll hold off here a little bit and just see where he goes."
Arnold was carted off the field during the Lions' victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday after attempting to make a diving tackle late in the third quarter.
He also left the Week 4 game against the Cleveland Browns with a shoulder injury. He said the pain had been lingering and was constantly nagging him.
"You play football. You play through a lot of things and it's one of those things where nobody's 100 percent right now," Arnold said. "So, I don't think it's [bad] luck. When I go out there, I play with no fear. When you go out there, you play fearless so you can't even put that in your head."
The Lions selected Arnold as the 24th overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft out of Alabama. He has started in all five games of his second season, logging 22 total tackles and four passes defended.
Detroit also placed its other starting cornerback, D.J. Reed, on injured reserve last week with a hamstring injury and will look to Amik Robertson to help the team's secondary with both guys out.
"One of the things he really majors in is man coverage. He's a sticky cover guy. Very confident, he's got great hips, movement skills, and he's got ball skills," Campbell said of Robertson. "We are completely comfortable with him playing outside and playing in the slot. So, he's another guy. Thank goodness we got him, because we don't feel like there's a drop-off with Amik."