Lions’ Terrion Arnold claims Pat Surtain can get away with pass interference calls

On Wednesday, the Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, alongside the Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain, joined Kay Adams for a conversation on the defensive back position.

During this, Arnold appeared to claim that Surtain (the most experienced player of the two) can avoid certain calls solely due to his status in the league.

"My thoughts are, you know, it being an offensive league And kind of like, I mean, you know, Pat already knows, like just having, like, to earn your stripes, like working your way up in the league, like a lot of times. (Timestamp: 2:21) You know, when you go out there and even talking to some of the officials, some of the stuff us young DBs, we can't get away with the same things as the vets (Pat's not getting that calls, what you're saying) in that situation, nah, Pat ain't."

There is some truth in this joking comment. Experienced players are always going to be able to potentially avoid penalties. But this is not due to their status in the league but down to their experience. They have a greater understanding of what conduct is and is not a penalty, and they can do all they can to avoid committing these while playing at the top level.

This is not to say that younger players do not have this ability, but at times, their inexperience at playing at the highest level of the sport can be on show. This inexperience can make certain penalties obvious and much harder to defend when questioned by officials.

This is Arnold's second season in the NFL, and he has already made a strong impact on the Lions team, recording 60 tackles during his rookie season last year. He already has 15 tackles to his name this season, with that figure only going to grow.

As for Surtain, 2025 will be his fifth season for the Broncos. Like Arnold, he has been able to become a key part of the defense for his team and has put up consistent numbers during his time in the league.

Will Terrion Arnold play a reduced role in the upcoming games?

However, Arnold has struggled with penalties during his short time in the NFL. After the first three games of the season, Arnold has already been on the receiving end of two pass interference calls.

This is something that Lions coach Dan Campbell will want to change and indicated on Wednesday that Arnold may play a reduced role in the coming games. He said the following during his weekly radio interview on Wednesday.

“Every young player, man, they have these ebbs and flows of their career or of a second year, things of that nature, and so he’s going be all right, man. We’re just going to keep working through it. And look, we’ll probably use Amik on some stuff, too. Amik’s a good player, so we’re going to mix it up a little bit."

If Campbell follows through with this, then Amik Robertson will be playing an increased role at cornerback. Robertson is a much more experienced cornerback than Arnold (coming into the league in 2020) and should help the Lions reduce the number of penalties they concede.