Rock Ya-Sin Might Have to Save This Thing
Terrion Arnold was arrested in Florida on Wednesday night. He faces kidnapping and armed robbery charges. If convicted, he could be looking at serious prison time.
And just like that, the Lions have a gaping hole at cornerback.
This is not a depth chart problem you can massage with a few reps in practice. Arnold was expected to start. The secondary was already thin. Now it’s borderline threadbare, and Brad Holmes has to find an answer somewhere between guys who have barely played, guys who are unproven, and guys who are available for a reason.
The Guy Already on the Roster Who Makes the Most Sense
Rock Ya-Sin is the obvious internal answer. He started a lot of games last year when Arnold and DJ Reed were banged up, and he held his own. His overall grade was 62.8 with a 64.8 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. Not bad at all.
He gave up 27 receptions and did not record an interception. There were some run defense struggles. But he was solid enough that you could trust him in a pinch.
The problem is nobody thought Ya-Sin was going to be a starter going into 2026. He was depth, insurance, the guy you lean on when things go sideways. Now things have gone sideways and he might have to be the guy across from DJ Reed every Sunday.
The Other Internal Options Range from Risky to Completely Unproven
Ennis Rakestraw is young and has been injured during his first two seasons. We have not seen him play meaningful NFL football outside of a few low-snap-count appearances as a rookie and some preseason work. If he stays healthy, maybe there is something there. That is a big if.
Keith Abney is a fifth-round rookie who many evaluators expected to come off the board in the second round before he fell all the way to Detroit in the fifth. He has been projected more as a slot corner than an outside corner, although he has played outside and has that ability. Asking him to start right away on the outside is risky for a secondary that cannot afford another weak link.
Roger McCreary was expected to be the starting slot corner. He has played on the outside before with Tennessee and did it fairly well, but he was much better inside. If you move McCreary outside, Abney becomes the new starting slot corner by default. That is a lot of shuffling for a unit that needs stability more than anything.
Nick Whiteside and Khalil Dorsey round out the depth chart. Whiteside played 40 snaps against Tampa Bay last year and looked good, then saw only 11 snaps after that. Dorsey has been solid on special teams as a gunner but has not played much defense. Not exactly proven commodities.
The Trade Market and Free Agency Do Not Inspire Confidence
The trade market is thin right now. Who is willing to move a cornerback this late in the offseason, and what would they ask for in return? Those are not comfortable questions to answer.
The free agent pool has some names floating around. Marshon Lattimore, Kenny Moore, Adoree Jackson, Tre Davious White, Artie Burns. Even Ifeatu Melifonwu, who spent time with the Lions before as a safety but has played some corner. Some of those guys could potentially start right away. Some of them are available for a reason.
Brad Holmes will have to decide if any of them are worth bringing in, or if he trusts what he already has on the roster. Neither path is clean.
The Secondary Was Already a Question Mark Before This Happened
The Lions are still waiting on potential updates regarding Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph. There is no guarantee both safeties will be back. Now you have presumably lost one of your starting cornerbacks on top of all that.
That is a problem. The Lions are going to have to figure something out, whether it is trusting Ya-Sin as the starter, fast-tracking Abney’s development, making a trade, or bringing in a veteran free agent. None of those paths are perfect.
We will see what Brad Holmes does from here. But this is absolutely something to be concerned about right now.
Is Ya-Sin good enough to hold down a starting role all season or are we one injury away from complete disaster? Drop your honest take below.
