John Harbaugh Breaks Down Giants' Risk-Reward Calculus on Terrion Arnold

The Giants head coach detailed how the team is weighing the legal risk against the talent of the former Lions first-round cornerback.

ex- Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh is on a mission to hit the ground running in his first season at the team’s helm, and to accomplish that, he’s all about bringing in good players whose skill sets can help out.

That’s the reason behind the Giants’ interest in former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is currently facing felony charges that led to the Lions parting ways with their former first-round draft pick.

“We want to be aggressive in every way, whatever we can do, find everything out we can about any player that can help us be better,” Harbaugh said when asked about Arnold.

“The margins are tight in the National Football League. You try to win a game. You come up with a good play. You can find a play on the internet that somebody puts out there that one of your opponents is running in practice, man. You look for those too. So, we're looking for players that can help us all the time. And he's a player that can help us.”

The Giants hosted a visit by Arnold on Wednesday, presumably to get to know him and to gain additional clarity about Arnold’s situation. Harbaugh said that the organization has already performed a deep dive into Arnold’s circumstances and has presented the head coach with an overview.

“If there is a decision to be made on any player that you don't want to go there with a player, then this organization, they won't go there,” Harbaugh said. “And so, that decision would also have to be made.

“It's more than just what you read in the papers, though. I mean, you got to find out exactly where everything stands. And I think, I do know that our people do a great job of that.”

Arnold, who has denied any wrongdoing, could be looking at a lengthy legal process while he fights to clear his name, according to Harbaugh. And that is something the Giants have also weighed when deciding whether to make an offer.

“I think you have to decide, where does the legal process stand? What are we really talking about here? What does it look like? And you have to make a judgment along those lines,” he said, also acknowledging that the league could put the cornerback on the exempt list while he sorts out his situation," Harbaugh said.  

Therein lies another consideration for the Giants. “You try to do the best you can to anticipate what that might be and see if it's worth it,” Harbaugh said.

“There's risk-reward. There are things to be gained and things to be lost. And you just got to balance it out and try to make a two-fold decision.”

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