The Miami Dolphins made a couple of transactions Wednesday, both of them involving the secondary but each with a unique significance.
The two moves involved the Dolphins elevating safety Sheldrick Redwine from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement and signing former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette to the practice squad.
We'll start with Redwine, who we previously projected could get the call-up in light of rookie second-round pick Jevon Holland being on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Redwine not only should play against the New York Jets on Sunday, he could wind up in the starting lineup alongside Eric Rowe if Holland remains out and if Brandon Jones can't come back from the elbow injury that caused him to miss the past two games and that had him limited in practice Wednesday.
Redwine became the second player elevated as a COVID-19 replacement this week, following running back Duke Johnson.
Arnette almost assuredly won't play against the Jets on Sunday, but his addition is interesting nonetheless given his status as a 2020 first-round pick and the way his time in Las Vegas came to an end.
The Raiders waived Arnette in early November after a social media video surfaced showing the former Ohio State standout holding a weapon and threatening to shoot somebody.
This excerpt from an Associated Press explains his departure from the Raiders:
"There have been a series of bad decisions over the last year or so, but we can’t stand for the video of Damon with a gun threatening to take a life,” (Raiders GM Mike) Mayock said. “The content was unacceptable, contrary to our values and our owner Mark Davis has been very clear and very consistent that this is not how we will conduct ourselves in this community. The bottom line, the Raiders will not tolerate this type of behavior.”
Arnette was drafted 19th overall to be a starting cornerback with a pick acquired in the Khalil Mack trade despite what Mayock called “significant concerns” about his character. Arnette was rated lower on most draft rankings but the Raiders believed after talking to his coaches at Ohio State that they could develop him on and off the field.
“Obviously in hindsight, we weren’t able to do it,” Mayock said. “I know a lot of people, including myself, we were all concerned about this, but at the time we thought it was an acceptable risk. Obviously, it’s painful on all levels.”
Arnette ended up playing 13 games with four starts in his one-plus season with the Raiders, and his last start interestingly enough came against the Dolphins in that wild game at Allegiant Stadium last December.
Arnette also played against the Dolphins this past September when Las Vegas pulled out a 31-28 overtime victory.
In his brief NFL career, Arnette did not record an interception and his opponent passer rating when targeted was over 100 each of his two seasons, according to pro-football-reference.com.
Arnette became the third cornerback on the practice squad along with Javaris Davis and Chris Milton. The active roster includes six cornerbacks — Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Nik Needham, Justin Coleman, Noah Igbinoghene and Trill Williams — with special teams standout Elijah Campbell possibly returning from injured reserve at some point in the final weeks of the regular season.
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