Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Tennessee Titans
Free agents
For the first time since his arrest in June, free agent defensive tackle P.J. Hall is drawing some interest. The Bears hosted Hall for a work out, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets.
The charges of misdemeanor assault never seemed to serious or like something that would preclude him from getting another job. Hall finished last season with the Texans and originally received a tender as a restricted free agent, but that tender was rescinded. Originally a second-round pick of the Raiders in 2018, it didn’t take long for hall to find himself in Jon Gruden’s doghouse.
He made 18 starts across his first two pro seasons, but was dealt to the Vikings right before the start of the 2020 season. He failed his physical with Minnesota, reverted back to the Raiders, and was later waived. That’s when he latched on with Houston, and the Sam Houston State product started nine games for the Texans last year.
The 57th pick of the 2018 draft, Hall turned 26 back in April. In 40 career games and 27 starts, he has 82 tackles, 10 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks.
Defensive lineman P.J. Hall was arrested earlier this week on chargers of assault and interference with public duties, according to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop (via Twitter).
According to court documents (via Barshop), Hall inflicted “bodily injury … by pushing the Complainant with his hand.” Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the misdemeanor assault charge was filed back on June 13, and the 26-year-old is currently out on a $1,000 bond. Hall’s next court date is scheduled for mid-July.
Hall was a second-round pick by the Raiders out of Sam Houston State in 2018, but his stint with the organization was short lived. The defensive lineman saw time in 30 games (18 starts) during his two-year stint with the Raiders, collecting 48 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and nine QB hits. He was dumped to the Vikings last August, but after failing his physical, he reverted back to the Raiders roster and was ultimately waived.
Hall eventually caught on with the Texans, where he collected 34 tackles and one sack in 10 games (nine starts). Houston slapped him with a second-round tender following the season, but they later withdrew the offer, making Hall a free agent. Hall would have probably found another gig eventually, but suitors may be wary of a deal as they wait to see if the NFL hands out any punishment under their personal conduct policy.
Today’s the deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
Tendered:
Non-Tendered:
Tendered:
Non-Tendered:
Tomorrow is the deadline for NFL teams to extend tender offers to their own restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
Tendered:
Non-Tendered:
The season-ending injuries just keep rolling in, and the Texans are the latest to be hit. Defensive tackle P.J. Hall tore a pec and will miss the rest of the season as a result, a source told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Hall was scooped up on a cheap one-year deal back in August, and he’s turned into a nice find in an otherwise lost year. He’d started the past nine games, playing a little over half of the defensive snaps. He’ll finish his first season in Houston with 34 tackles, a sack, and a couple of quarterback hits. It’s yet another blow for a Texans defense that is already missing several starters.
While it’s a disappointing finish, Hall likely rehabilitated his value at least a little as he prepares to enter free agency. The 57th overall pick of the 2018 draft by the Raiders, he never lived up to his second-round status. He started 12 games for the Raiders last year but fell out of favor with the coaching staff, and was traded to Minnesota for a seventh-rounder in August. That deal was quickly nixed as he was waived with a failed physical, allowing him to sign with Houston.
The Texans are signing defensive tackle P.J. Hall, per NFL insider Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Hall took a visit with Houston several days ago.
The 2018 second-round choice of the Raiders had an interesting odyssey on the league transaction wire earlier this month. Las Vegas was prepared to cut Hall, but then the Vikings swooped in with a trade offer, agreeing to send a conditional seventh-round choice to the Raiders in exchange for the Sam Houston State product. But Hall subsequently failed his physical with the Vikings, so he reverted to the Raiders, who promptly waived him.
Apparently, Houston has evaluated Hall and has given him a clean bill of health. The team lost D.J. Reader via free agency and replaced him with second-round rookie Ross Blacklock, so a little more DL depth can’t hurt, especially when it comes via a young player with a good draft pedigree like Hall.
Hall started in 12 of his 16 games last year, finishing out with 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks from the interior. He was pushed out of the Raiders’ starting lineup by the addition of Maliek Collins.
TUESDAY, 4:23pm CT: Hall has indeed been waived, per today’s transactions wire.
TUESDAY, 3:57pm CT: Hold the phone. The trade was nullified after Hall failed his physical with Minnesota. He’ll now revert to the Raiders, who are expected to waive him.
MONDAY, 2:59pm CT: The Raiders are trading defensive tackle P.J. Hall to the Vikings, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In exchange, the Vikings will send a conditional seventh-round choice to the Raiders.
Hall was supposed to be waived before the end of the business day. Instead, the Vikings swooped in with a trade offer. Instead of crossing their fingers and waiting to see if Hall slipped on the waiver wire, they pulled off a deal. The pick will only change hands if Hall is on the roster for a certain number of games, so it’s essentially a low-cost, no-risk pickup for the Vikes.
Hall, a 2018 second-round pick, was pushed out of the starting lineup by the addition of Maliek Collins. Then, he lost his spot on the team, despite his reasonable rookie contract.
Hall started in 12 of his 16 games last year, finishing out with 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks from the interior. The Vikings will assume the remainder of his contract and have him under club control through 2021.
The Raiders will release defensive tackle P.J. Hall, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Raiders used a second-round pick on Hall just two years ago.
[RELATED: Raiders To Sign Jeremy Hill]
Hall, a Sam Houston State product, cracked the starting lineup in 2019. However, the Raiders went in a different direction this offseason, signing former Cowboys DT Maliek Collins to start alongside Maurice Hurst. Collins, 25, came on a fairly reasonable one-year, $6MM deal. Ultimately, they preferred his experience and 55 career starts to Hall’s raw talent.
Hall started in 12 of his 16 games last year, finishing out with 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks from the interior. Head coach Jon Gruden ran the 2018 draft for the Raiders, but he didn’t feel that Hall was worth keeping two years later. Cutting Hall won’t save the Raiders a whole lot of cash – they’ll carry $750K in dead money with just $532K coming off of the books. However, Hall’s release will clear a roster spot for the Raiders as they work their way down to an 80-man roster and welcome running back Jeremy Hill.
While Jon Gruden‘s yet to bestow much praise upon Martavis Bryant, the Raiders’ other wide receiver trade acquisition has impressed the new coach. It’s looking like the former Cowboys draft choice will have a role in the passing game, and Ryan Switzer certainly will contribute on special teams. Switzer returned seven punts for touchdowns while at North Carolina, including five his freshman year. He returned a punt for a score last season as a rookie.
“He’s a guy that can change the game, I think, on third down. He’s a tough matchup,” Gruden said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic (subscription required). “He’s quick. He has vertical speed. He has special teams ability. … I love Switzer. I think he’s one of the best punt returners of college football, perhaps the history of college football. He’s as good as I saw.”
Seth Roberts has served as the Raiders’ top slot option for the better part of the past three seasons for a team that hasn’t featured much depth at the position. Switzer, if nothing else, may supply that.
Here’s the latest out of Oakland.