Rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. is expected to be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list on Tuesday, which will likely keep him out of action for the start of the season.
Hall, a second-round pick out of Ohio State, would not be included on the Browns’ 53-man regular-season roster and would be paid as long as he remains on the roster. Commissioner Roger Goodell can use the list for players who have been arrested or charged with a crime while the league investigates and decides whether to impose discipline for violating the rules of conduct.
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A league spokesman declined to comment when contacted by The Chronicle-Telegram. The move would come Tuesday before teams are required to trim their rosters to 53 at 4 p.m.
If Hall hadn’t been on the roster, he would have made the team. He continued to practice and play in the preseason after being charged with domestic violence on Aug. 13 following an incident the night before with his fiancée at their shared home in Avon.
In the original incident report, the alleged victim stated that Hall, 21, put a gun to her head and said, “I’m going to end the f***ing thing. I don’t care.”
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The alleged victim’s mother told police that Hall pushed her daughter and hit her with a baby bottle. Hall and the alleged victim share an 11-month-old daughter.
According to the incident report, the alleged victim said Hall then threw her belongings outside and dragged her across the porch and driveway. As the incident continued, he damaged a door frame and punched a hole in the wall, the report states.
The woman’s mother told police she saw Hall choke the alleged victim by the neck, push her head through a wall and break down a bedroom door to drag her out. She did not seek medical attention.
The alleged victim met with Avon police four days after the incident and gave another statement, Police Chief Daniel Fischbach told The Chronicle. He said the contents of the statement would not be released because the case is ongoing.
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WKYC.com reported that Hall’s fiancée has retracted the accusation about the gun.
Messages left for the prosecutor were not answered.
Hall was released on $10,000 bail and his next court date is scheduled for Sept. 10 at 9:30 a.m. in Avon Lake Municipal Court. That’s two days after the season opener against the Cowboys.
Hall grew up in Cleveland and began his high school career in Garfield Heights before moving to Streetsboro. He attended Ohio State and was selected No. 54 in the NFL Draft in April.
According to the NFL’s rules of conduct, simply avoiding a conviction in court is not enough. “We must all be held to higher standards… and players who engage in prohibited conduct will face disciplinary action.” Prohibited conduct includes actual or threatened violence and domestic violence.
Depending on the outcome of the league’s investigation, the player may be returned to active duty, remain on the Commissioner Exempt List for an extended period of time, or be subject to disciplinary action.
A player placed on the exempt list is not permitted to train or participate in matches, but may, upon request and with the approval of the club, be at the club’s premises to attend meetings, individual training sessions, therapy and other non-football-related activities.
Any missed games on the list will count toward a subsequent suspension. A first domestic violence offense generally results in a six-game suspension, which can be reduced or extended depending on the circumstances.
The incident in Avon was not the first to catch the couple’s attention.
In February 2023, Hall and his then-girlfriend got into a verbal argument in the car as he dropped her off at the airport. According to the incident report, she hit him several times on the head with a glass bottle. The domestic violence charge against her was later dropped.
CUTS BEGIN
General Manager Andrew Berry began cutting down the roster ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
He left out 16 players, and none of them were a surprise. The roster consists of 74 players.
The following players were cut: Linebackers Landon Honeycutt, Caleb Johnson and Marvin Moody, safeties Tyler Coyle and Chase Williams (injury report), defensive ends Isaiah Thomas and Jeremiah Martin, running backs Aidan Robbins and Jacob Saylors, tackles Roy Mbaeteka and Chim Okorafor, guards Wyatt Davis and Zack Johnson, cornerback Faion Hicks, kicker Lucas Havrisik and long snapper Rex Sunahara.
Sunahara, a Bay Village native, stepped in while Charley Hughlett rested an unspecified injury. Thomas was a seventh-round pick in 2022.
