In April, the Cleveland Browns chose an Ohio native as their top pick, selecting Ohio State defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. with their second-round selection.
As a 20-year-old draft pick, Hall was seen as a young and inexperienced prospect with tremendous upside and ability to make an impact in the NFL.
Yet his career was put on hold after an August incident where his partner alleged domestic violence, and the rookie defensive tackle was placed on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List as a result while his legal proceedings were sorted out.
Hall’s name was removed from the Commissioner’s List this week as his suspension – a five-game ban – was revealed, returning to practice on Monday.
After his first week of practice, analyst Daryl Ruiter caught up with the rookie and shared his thoughts on the suspension in a video posted to X.
“I’m excited to be in the building with the guys,” Hall said, adding, “Just happy that everybody accepted me back after the unfortunate event that happened recently.”
#Browns rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. declined to push back on or deny any of the allegations that were made against him in that August incident at his home pic.twitter.com/4GlbUZwMCw
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 11, 2024
After admitting he was excited to get back onto the football field this week, he addressed the reason for his suspension.
“It was just an unfortunate event,” Hall said, adding that he is continuing with therapy sessions after his reinstatement.
Hall declined to speak about specifics of the event, telling reporters that they could read about the details in the police reports from the incident.
The rookie has an opportunity to get his first taste of NFL action this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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