Detroit Lions 2024 first-round draft pick Terrion Arnold is quickly establishing himself as a good quote.
Earlier in the week, the cornerback made waves by claiming that the Las Vegas Raiders wanted to take him with their first-round selection (No. 13 overall), but opted for Georgia tight end Brock Bowers on a coin flip. The Raiders denied Arnold’s story.
Upon reporting to rookie minicamp on Thursday, Arnold chose jersey No. 0 and told reporters he went with that because “ain’t nobody like me.”
But on Friday, Arnold might have given his best quote yet. With Mother’s Day on Sunday, he explained how important his mother has been in establishing his competitiveness as a football player.
“When I was a kid, when I used to beat my mom at racing, I had to continually beat her,” said Arnold, via Pride of Detroit. “We used to fight when I was younger, just wrestling and playing around. Like, man, I’ll never forget one time my mom kicked my tooth out because we were going at it so hard.”
Revealing that his mother once kicked his tooth out while they were roughhousing probably would’ve drawn attention. Yet Arnold followed that up with an even better quote, explaining how fiercely he and his mother compete.
“If my mom was out here right now and lined up across from me as a receiver, I would jam her into the dirt,” Arnold said. “That’s just my mindset. And my mom knows that. Football-wise, that’s just the way that I think, and the way that I was brought up.”
It’s difficult to imagine many other sons expressing a similar sentiment to their mothers on Sunday. But Arnold has presented a possible opportunity for a greeting card: “Mom, I love you and would jam you into the dirt.”
This could also open up a potential endorsement opportunity for Arnold and his mother, Tamala. Imagine mother and son lining up against each other for, say, a Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercial.
Arnold expressed a more conventional, heartfelt tribute to his mother during the NFL draft combine.
“I just want to say, Tamala Arnold, I love you,” Arnold said on NFL Network. “I’m blessed to have you as a mom. You overcame a lot and with that being said, I’m gonna continue to keep shining. Just how you raised me to be. I’ll never forget where I came from.”
Source Agencies
