An expanded role is coming for Amik Robertson. A reduced one is coming for Terrion Arnold.
"It has nothing to do with Terrion's play or performance, let me start there," Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said Thursday. "Amik has always earned his keep with me. I saw it last year, that’s a player that’s earned the right to be on the field."
Because of how frequently the Lions have been playing base defense, with three linebackers on the field at once, Robertson, who mostly mans the slot, is "losing snaps," Sheppard said. It's a disservice to a player who has a nose for the ball and a tenacity that the Lions love, and a disservice to a defense that wants as many playmakers on the field as possible at once.
Robertson proved what he could do on the outside when he stepped in for injured corner Carlton Davis III down the stretch last year and more than held his own, most notably in a matchup with Justin Jefferson in the season finale. The vast majority of his snaps this year have come in the slot, with Arnold and D.J. Reed playing on the perimeter. Robertson has played about half of the Lions' defensive snaps.
Dan Campbell said this week that the Lions want to mix Robertson in at corner as Arnold works through some growing pains.
And Sheppard said Thursday, "To be honest, he’s earned more than what he’s gotten so far. So we were doing this regardless."
"Now let’s get to T.A.," Sheppard said.
Arnold has not played well in coverage through the first three games of the season, any way you slice it. He's allowed the most yards in coverage among NFL corners, per PFF, while his coverage grade ranks 99th out of 108 players at his position.
Sheppard said in training camp that Arnold was "looking like a CB1 that can go follow people and do it on a consistent basis," which was valid praise for a player who was winning many of his matchups on the practice field with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. It just hasn't translated to the games.
"He’s very young and he’s still in the developmental stages," said Sheppard. "All we have to do right now is find a way to bring that confidence that we saw when he was out there against Jameson Williams and St. Brown all camp, to game day. And it’s our jobs as coaches to help the player and find a way to get that done.”
When Sheppard addressed his defense the day after the Lions' 38-30 win over the Ravens in which Lamar Jackson picked on Arnold in the first half, he told his players, "Everybody could point the finger at T.A., but you know why we were able to knock out the run game? Because he was playing with no help behind him for probably 50 percent of that game."
"Now, it’s no excuse," Sheppard said. "It's the job you signed up for (when) you signed that contract as a corner in the NFL. You’re expected to do that. But let’s make no mistake about it. I told the D-line, 'How would you like to go out there on that island while you guys (are) having fun in here in the box knowing there’s nobody back there?' So, I want that to be said.
"It’s not like I’m down on T.A. or T.A.’s having a bad year. That’s not it. We’re talking a few plays. But when you play out there, those few plays get exposed and highlighted a lot more than if an interior D-linemen might’ve gotten beat five, six, seven times -- the same amount of times he’s gotten beat on the perimeter. But nobody’s putting that in the tabloids because it’s not seen and exposed like a corner."
Of course, Arnold is held to an especially high standard as a former first-round pick. And as someone who drew rave reviews from teammates and coaches in training camp. The Lions still believe in him, and will keep playing him. But they also believe in Robertson, and will start playing him more.
"I tell him all the time," Sheppard said of Arnold, "you’re on an island. You may get beat, but it just can’t be busts. It can’t be big gains and things like that.’ It’s the NFL, corners are going to get beat. It’s our job as coaches to find a way to help this player continue to develop and do the things we saw him do all training camp.”