Detroit Lions first-round pick and cornerback Terrion Arnold inadvertently created a controversy for the Las Vegas Raiders after some comments he made during a guest appearance on a show.
During an interview on "The Next Round", Arnold indicated that he was called by a member of the Raiders' coaching staff after the draft and was told that Las Vegas had a "coin toss" between drafting him and tight end Brock Bowers.
"(The Lions) knew that the Raiders, there was a possibility that they took me," he said. "And, actually, the Raiders coach, they called me after the draft, they were like 'we actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.'"
How did the Raiders decide between drafting Terrion Arnold and Brock Bowers?
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 7, 2024
A coin flip. pic.twitter.com/oHAcFeeyIx
The controversy from the "coin toss" comment comes in two forms.
First, it would obviously be embarrassing for the Raiders if it was found out they literally flipped a coin to decide their first-round pick. But chances are whoever told Arnold that meant it figuratively, not literally.
Even in the figurative sense, the Raiders coach revealed that it wasn't such an easy decision to draft Bowers, who was a controversial pick amongst Raiders fans to begin with because of the team's lack of a need for a tight end. Cornerback, on the other hand, was a much more pressing need.
Since Arnold told the story, multiple members of the Raiders' organization have had to dispel it, including general manager Tom Telesco, head coach Antonio Pierce and assistant general manager Champ Kelly.
"No call, no coin flip," Pierce said, before adding, "as soon as the last two QBs went off the board, we said Bowers all the way."
"I can't confirm that, at all," Kelly said.
"Typically, I use a magic 8-ball and not a coin," Telesco joked.
It's hard to imagine Arnold would simply make up the story, but it's not like Raiders' brass would admit it's true, either.
