Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. has been placed on the commissioner exempt list to start the 2024 season.
The list is used only for what the league calls “unusual” circumstances, including but not limited to, players facing either felony charges or charges that involve the use of physical force. Hall will still be paid, but he won’t count toward the Browns’ 53-man roster and isn’t allowed to participate in team activities.
The team announced Hall’s placement on the list Tuesday as part of moves to reduce its roster size to the regular-season mandate of 53 players.
Hall was arrested Aug. 13 on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge involving a woman who told police she was his fiancee. According to the incident report filed by the Avon (Ohio) Police, Hall allegedly attempted to force the woman out of the front door and later dragged her on her back across the front porch and to the end of the driveway.
The report says Hall later followed her into a room with a handgun and pressed the gun against her temple. Police found two handguns, a .40-caliber Glock and a 9mm Smith & Wesson, on a mattress. The incident report said the police found damage in the house consistent with what the woman had reported.
Hall, a 2024 second-round pick, was arrested and arraigned the next day. The Browns did not practice on the day of Hall’s arrest, but Hall was back with the team and participated in practice the following day. The only practice he missed in training camp was for injury reasons. He played in all three preseason games.
Only NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has the authority to place a player on the exempt list, and Goodell will ultimately decide if or when Hall will be reinstated. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has repeatedly declined to address the charges against Hall, saying that the team plans to let the legal process play out.
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