Kansas City Chiefs sign former Ohio State cornerback

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed cornerback Damon Arnette to a reserves/futures contract, per ESPN’s Field Yates. The former Ohio State star spent his first two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, who selected him 19th overall in the 2020 NFL draft.

Arnette entered the season as a backup cornerback for the Raiders. He suffered a groin injury in Week 4, causing him to be placed on injured reserve. However, before he could make his return, the team waived him on Nov. 8 after a video of Arnette brandishing a gun and making threats to kill someone surfaced on social media.

The cornerback signed to the Dolphins practice squad a month later.

In 13 career games in Las Vegas, he totaled 29 tackles and three passes defended. He started seven of his nine games as a rookie, but came off the bench in all four this past season.

Arnette has struggled with injuries in both NFL seasons thus far. As a rookie in 2020, he suffered a thumb injury and missed more than a month. His injury history and off-field trouble make him a high-risk, high-reward signing candidate for the Chiefs.

Per the league rules regarding futures contracts, Arnette’s salary will not count against Kansas City until the beginning of next season. The Chiefs signed him now simply secures his rights for next year, making him off-limits to any other teams.

Kansas City is still chasing a Super Bowl this season following a Wild Card win against Pittsburgh this past week. They are set to face the Buffalo Bills at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday in an AFC divisional-round game. That matchup pits two high-powered offenses led by star quarterbacks against one another. It is also a rematch of last season’s AFC conference championship contest.