Detroit's secondary is short-handed before camp gets going

The Lions opened training camp already missing pieces in the secondary, and the situation hasn't improved. Safety Kendrick Law is on injured reserve, and cornerbacks Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph were both carrying Questionable designations through late July. That's three of the more recognizable names in the back end unavailable or uncertain before a meaningful rep has been taken.

The Terrion Arnold situation made all of this harder. The Lions released Arnold on June 29 following his arrest on felony charges, and he cleared waivers unclaimed — which told you something about how the rest of the league weighed the risk. He had played only eight games last season, so the on-field loss is manageable in isolation. Stacked on top of Law's IR stint and the Branch and Joseph uncertainty, it's a different conversation.

What's left on the depth chart at corner is De'Shawn Rucker and Nick Whiteside, neither of whom has meaningful production on file. Dan Campbell called the Arnold decision "unfortunate" when he addressed the team, which is about the right word — not wrong, just costly at a bad time. The Lions have the offensive firepower to outscore problems, but last season's 9–8 finish showed that close games have a way of finding the secondary. They went 2-5 in one-score games. That's the number that follows this roster into camp.