The Detroit Lions announced earlier this month some number changes among their players, including a switch by cornerback Terrion Arnold from the No. 0 that he wore during his rookie season to the No. 6.
During an appearance on the “New Wave” podcast, Arnold said he changed his number in remembrance of former Alabama teammate Khyree Jackson.
Jackson died in a traffic accident on July 6, 2024.
“I wore 6 in high school, too,” Arnold said. “And then we all know what happened to Khyree, and I just feel like just being able to honor his legacy and the impact that he had on me. Khyree, when he showed up, it was, like, no dead moments when it came to football. The guy was a competitor, ultimate competitor. And it’s kind of just that extra motivation when you look down and you say, ‘Dang, man, I got on that 6 and my brother living through me at the same time.’
“They say like, ‘Football is bigger than you.’ Like Kolston, his little brother, he can go look on the screen and look in the camera and say, ‘Dang, man, he’s wearing No. 6 because of my big brother.’ That’s amazing. And then being able to talk to his family, talk to his dad or his mom, just letting them know like, ‘Man, at the end of the day, Terrion ain’t forgot about Khyree.’”
Arnold and Jackson played together in the Crimson Tide’s secondary in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Jackson wore No. 6 at Alabama before transferring to Oregon for the 2023 campaign.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Lions chose Arnold at No. 24 in the first round. The Minnesota Vikings picked Jackson in the fourth round with the 108th overall selection.
Arnold was an immediate starter in the Lions’ defensive backfield. Jackson didn’t make it to his first NFL game.
According to a Maryland State Police report, Jackson was a passenger in a Dodge Charger that was involved in a three-vehicle wreck in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. State Troopers responded to the accident at 3:14 a.m. EDT July 6.
The Maryland State Police’s preliminary investigation indicated an Infiniti Q50 struck the Charger and a Chevrolet Impala while attempting a lane change at a high rate of speed. The Charger left the road and hit several tree stumps, the police report said.
While the occupants of the other two vehicles were uninjured, the three occupants of the Charger, including driver Isaiah Hazel and passenger Anthony Lytton Jr., were killed. Lytton and Hazel were teammates of Jackson’s at Dr. Henry Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro.
Jackson was 15 days away from reporting for his first NFL training camp with the Vikings when he died.
