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Lions’ Terrion Arnold Switching to No. 6 in Honor of Khyree Jackson

Stephen Douglas

Detroit’s Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch celebrate after a turnover.
Detroit’s Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch celebrate after a turnover. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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Terrion Arnold is changing numbers. The Detroit Lions cornerback will switch from No. 0 to No. 6 as he heads into his second season in the NFL. He's making the change to honor his former Alabama teammate Khyree Jackson, who died in a tragic car crash last July.

Arnold and Jackson both played cornerback for the Crimson Tide in 2021 and 2022 before Jackson transferred to Oregon. Arnold was taken with the No. 24 pick in the 2024 NFL draft by the Lions while Jackson went in the fourth round to the Minnesota Vikings.

Jackson was going to wear No. 31 in his rookie season with the Vikings, but wore No. 6 at Alabama. Minnesota wore "KJ" decals on their helmets last season and didn't allow anyone else to use Jackson's jersey number.

Arnold talked about his decision to honor his former teammate on Alabama's New Wave Podcast saying, "I just feel like just being able to honor his legacy and then the impact that he even had on me."

Arnold started 15 games for the Detroit Lions as a rookie, but left their Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings on a cart. He was able to return for their playoff game two weeks later and made six tackles in their season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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