Texans sign Damon Arnette: Former first-rounder returns to NFL after three-year absence, legal issues

Former first-round pick Damon Arnette is getting a second chance in the NFL. According to multiple reports, the Houston Texans reached an agreement with the cornerback on a one-year deal, which brings him back to the league for the first time since Jan. 2022. Arnette faced numerous legal issues during and after his first stint in the NFL but made his return to professional football this spring with the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks and caught the attention of multiple franchises.

Arnette said last month that he is back on the field as “the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.” His career revitalization was years in the making, as he has not played in an NFL game since 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders selected Arnette with the 19th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft but released him just over a year later after a video surfaced of him brandishing firearms and making death threats. Arnette then bounced around practice squads until the Kansas City Chiefs released him following an arrest on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and two counts of possession of controlled substances.

“I had to take a look in the mirror,” Arnette said to Houston’s KPRC 2. “I had to make some serious life changes. And the main thing that I did was I invited back my support system, my foundation, and that’s probably something I will never let go of again because I see how dangerous it is to be trying to navigate in a new world, new environment, new situations with no experience. So, I definitely learn from that end.”

Damon Arnette returns to football with Houston Roughnecks, seeks NFL opportunity as ‘best version of myself’

Carter Bahns

Arnette started eight games for the Roughnecks this spring and accumulated 19 tackles, including a sack. He intercepted one pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown.

“I feel like I’ve proved a complete turnaround,” Arnette said. “All the coaches that have been with me right now, I feel like their words would be more valuable because I’ve said a lot of things in the past. What I would say is what they see on film, that’s me being out of commission for three years.

“I’m a dawg on the field. I’m more of a professional now than I ever was before. I wasn’t a professional before. I was just a dawg. I found professionalism and a calm state of mind. I feel like I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.”

Arnette played in 13 games with the Raiders across his only two NFL seasons and tallied 29 tackles, a tackle for loss and three breakups in that span. The former All-Big Ten second-teamer emerged as a star at the college level and established himself as a first-round talent following four seasons at Ohio State.