Damon Arnette

Damon Arnette (born September 2, 1996) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Arnette was born in Dallas, Texas and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when he was two years old. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where he played linebacker and wide receiver for the Raiders. He was named honorable mention Class 8A-7A-6A All-County as a senior and helped lead the team to a state championship. Rated a three-star recruit, Arnette originally committed to play college football at South Carolina during the summer going into his senior year before changing his commitment to Ohio State on national signing day.

Arnette redshirted his true freshman season after a bone chip was discovered in his tibia during training camp. He played in 13 of Ohio State's games the following season as a key reserve at defensive back and recorded 21 tackles with one interception. As a redshirt sophomore, Arnette started 12 of the Buckeyes 14 games and led the team's cornerbacks with 44 tackles with two interceptions and eight passes broken up and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference. Arnette was again named honorable mention as a junior, 40 tackles and one interception in 13 games played. Arnette originally planned to leave school and forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL draft, but eventually decided to return to Ohio State for his final year of eligibility.

Arnette scored his first career touchdown on September 14, 2019 on a 97-yard interception return against Indiana. Arnette was named second team All-Big Ten at the end of the season, recording 35 tackles, eight passes defended and one interception while playing with a broken wrist.

College statistics

Arnette was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the first round with the 19th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. The Raiders previously obtained the 19th selection as part of the trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in 2018. He was placed on injured reserve on October 2, 2020 with a thumb injury. He was moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 19, and was moved back to injured reserve on October 30. He was activated to the active roster on November 14, 2020.

Arnette entered the 2021 season as a backup cornerback behind Trayvon Mullen and Casey Hayward. He suffered a groin injury in Week 4 and was placed on injured reserve. The Raiders released him on November 8, 2021, after the discovery of a video showing him brandishing firearms and making threats.