Las Vegas Raiders rookie cornerback Damon Arnette wasted no time turning heads at training camp following his arrival as the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, it appears Arnette suffered a setback after fracturing his thumb at practice. It is safe to say that the timing of the injury is hardly ideal with the start of the 2020 NFL season just over a week away.
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the broken thumb requires Arnette to wear a soft cast:
Source: #Raiders first-round CB Damon Arnette recently suffered a fracture in his thumb. He’s currently in a soft cast. A rough situation for the rookie who had impressed, though he did once play with a club at Ohio State.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 2, 2020
Despite the cast, Arnette was seen taking part in warm-ups while wearing his gear during Wednesday’s practice, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic:
#Raiders CB Damon Arnette's out here with his cast on. He's in a good mood, dancing during warmups. pic.twitter.com/bKROyLvpQL
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) September 3, 2020
It is certainly encouraging to see Arnette is not letting the injury prevent him from getting some work in ahead of the 2020 campaign. Of course, it now remains to be seen whether or not the Raiders plan on letting him play with the cast on in the season opener versus the Carolina Panthers.
Arnette is all too familiar with the challenges of playing with a clubbed hand. He managed to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors while playing with a broken wrist last season at Ohio State so there is good reason to be optimistic about his chances.
Las Vegas made it clear that they are all in on debuting their talented, young cornerback tandem of Arnette and Trayvon Mullen after releasing Prince Amukamara. However, this now leaves them in quite a predicament ahead of their road trip to Carolina.
Arnette’s potential absence would open the door for cornerbacks Isaiah Johnson and Keisean Nixon to take over as starters to begin the year since Nevin Lawson is suspended Week 1. The Raiders will need all the help they can get against a Panthers’ receiving corps that is also eager to show off their trio of Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, and Curtis Samuel.
