Jon Gruden Sounds Off on Former Raiders 1st-Rounder

“He’s got a whole new identity. He doesn’t look the same. He doesn’t act the same. He’s not the same. He has changed his identity. He changed the circle of people in his life, in a good way. He’s focused. He’s determined. He’s got to make up for some time that he lost. He’s really concentrating on stringing good days together. I’m really proud of him," Gruden told KPRC 2 said shortly after Arnette signed with the Houston Texans.

“I see a guy who has reinvented himself. He has done it very impressively. I hope he continues to do that. We’ll all be able to pull for him. Some of the best stories I’ve been involved in with coaching is seeing guys turn it around from adversity. Darren Waller is a great example. He had problems and fixed himself. So did Maxx Crosby. Damon Arnette can do that as well. Hopefully, this opportunity leads to something great.”

When reflecting on what went wrong during his time with the Raiders, Arnette noted that he has learned from the mistakes he made early in his career.

“Just being an amateur to life, I like to look at myself as being protected and sheltered a lot because of football and when I got into the professional world we had Covid and certain things going on that didn’t allow certain leadership to take control of me, which again I should have control of myself and I should have my foundation, my support system around which was my doing of not having it,” Arnette said.

“And then the world’s doing Covid, it was just bad timing. I learned a lot, though. Me being where I am now, I wouldn’t change anything because who I am today right now I feel like I needed literally needed to go through everything that I went through to be as wise as I feel like I am right now."

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