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

Former first-round NFL Draft pick Damon Arnette is back on the football field after numerous legal issues derailed his career

Former Ohio State cornerback and first-round NFL Draft pick Damon Arnette made his return to professional football this spring with the UFL's Houston Roughnecks after a prolonged absence that stemmed from legal troubles. With seven games under his belt, Arnette said he is back on the field as "the best version of myself that I've ever been" and wants another opportunity in the NFL. He last appeared in an NFL game in 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders selected Arnette with the 19th overall 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."

Arnette played in seven of the Roughnecks' first eight games thus far in the 2025 UFL season. He accumulated 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and five pass breakups. He is the third-most productive pass defender on the roster.

"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."

Several NFL teams reached out to the Roughnecks with inquiries about Arnette, KPRC 2 reports. A return to the league would mark the first time since Nov. 2021 Arnette held a spot on an active roster. The Ohio State product spent the final weeks of that season on the Miami Dolphins practice squad and held a reserve/futures contract with Kansas City for all of nine days before his final release.

Arnette played in 13 games with Las Vegas and tallied 29 tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass breakups across parts of two seasons. 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.