BEREA – Mike Hall Jr.’s rookie season is on hold.
Hall, a defensive tackle, was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List on Tuesday. He will likely miss the start of the season, which begins Sept. 8 against the Cowboys at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Four quarterbacks are on the first 53-man roster; Siaki Ika, D’Onta Foreman and Michael Woods II are among the dropouts
Hall, a second-round pick out of Ohio State, is not part of the Browns’ 53-man regular-season roster and will be paid while on the roster. Players who have been arrested or charged with a crime may be placed on the list while the league investigates and determines whether to impose discipline for violating the rules of conduct.
“No comment,” said coach Kevin Stefanski when asked about the league’s decision.
Hall, 21, was charged with domestic violence on Aug. 13 following an incident with his fiancée at their shared Avon home the night before. He practiced the day after the charges and continued preseason practice and games.
While on the exempt list, Hall is not allowed to practice or participate in games, but he is allowed to visit team headquarters for meetings, individual training sessions, therapy and other non-football-related activities.
Jack Conklin, Greg Newsome II and Dalvin Tomlinson will be activated and return to training on Tuesday
The original incident report, dated Aug. 12, said Hall put a gun to her head and said, “I’m going to f***ing break up. I don’t care.” 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.
WKYC.com reported that Hall’s fiancée has retracted the accusation about the gun.
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. 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.
Hall was released on $10,000 bail and his next court date is scheduled for September 10 at 9:30 a.m. in Avon Lake Municipal Court.
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.”
Hall grew up in Cleveland and began his high school career in Garfield Heights before moving to Streetsboro. He was selected No. 54 overall in the NFL Draft in April.
INJURY REPORT
Some big names and important regular players returned to training.
Tackle Jack Conklin (knee), cornerback Greg Newsome II (hamstring), tight end David Njoku (injury undisclosed), linebacker Jordan Hicks (undisclosed), defensive end Alex Wright (undisclosed), safety Ronnie Hickman (back) and tackle James Hudson III (ankle) completed individual drills during the 25 minutes open to reporters.
“I thought all the guys looked good,” Stefanski said. “We had a good long individual period to really focus. Today we refined our positional skills and I thought the guys did a good job of that.”
Conklin and Newsome had missed all of camp, while the others were injured during camp. Conklin, a two-time All-Pro right tackle, is expected to work as left tackle at least until Jedrick Wills Jr. is ready.
Wills passed his physical on Monday and was activated from the injured list, but he did not practice on Tuesday or all offseason.
“He’s allowed to train,” Stefanski said. “He’s doing walkthroughs. He’s not going to train yet, but he’s making progress in his rehab.”
Wills underwent surgery in December to repair a torn medial collateral ligament.
Also absent from practice were cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion), defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II (hamstring), receiver David Bell (quadriceps) and rookie linebacker Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson (quadriceps).
Rookies rule
Five newcomers made the roster, not counting Hall – guards Zak Zinter (third-round pick) and Javion Cohen (not drafted), receiver Jamari Thrash (fifth round), Watson (sixth round) and cornerback Myles Harden (seventh round).
“It’s an incredible accomplishment for all of our guys to get on an NFL roster,” Stefanski said. “This is a competitive roster. There are a lot of competitive rosters out there, so it’s a big deal and exciting for the guys to have made it.”
“But that’s only half the battle for these young players, they have to work for their role. They have to keep working on it, have to get better, but I don’t want to dismiss that. It’s a great achievement.”
Seventh-round defensive tackle Jowon Briggs was the only one of the six draft picks cut. He is the first draft pick cut as a rookie in Andrew Berry’s five years as general manager.
TOP ROOKI
Thrash (6-0, 190) was voted the winner of the Maurice Bassett Award, given to the most outstanding rookie in training camp and voted on by the local media. The award is named after Bassett, who was a running back for the Browns from 1954 to 1956.
Thrash started camp slowly, but caught 10 passes for 141 yards and scored one touchdown in three preseason games.
