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Browns rookie Mike Hall Jr. plays in NFL preseason less than week after arrest
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- Browns rookie Mike Hall Jr. plays in NFL preseason less than week after arrest
CLEVELAND — Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr . played in Saturday evening's preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings less than a week after his arrest on a domestic violence charge .
Hall didn't start the preseason game featuring backups, but he entered the action for the Cleveland defense's third play of the game. He logged 25 of the defense's 58 snaps (43%).
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. (51) waits to line up before a play during a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday in Cleveland.
Hall also practiced Wednesday on the heels of Avon police arresting him Tuesday, and Browns coach Kevin Stefanski repeatedly explained the team allowed the second-round draft pick to practice because it's "going to let the legal proceedings play out."
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After the Browns lost 27-12 to the Vikings , Stefanski explained the franchise's stance on Hall's status is status quo, saying, "I don't have much to add."
Although Hall participated in Wednesday's joint practice with the Vikings at Browns headquarters in Berea, he suffered a stinger and didn't finish the session. The injury prevented Hall from participating Thursday in the second and final joint practice between the Browns and Vikings.
"With an injury, you never know how long guys are going to be out," Stefanski said. "He bounced back."
Hall , 21, is a Cleveland native who graduated from Streetsboro High School and played college football at Ohio State before the Browns picked him 54th overall in April.
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Browns defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. stretches before a preseason game at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024.
Why was Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. arrested?
According to the police report, officers were dispatched Monday to a house owned by Hall and his fiancee, with whom he had a son last September. The mother of Hall's fiancee called 911 and said, per the police report, Hall "had pushed her daughter (name redacted) and struck her with a baby bottle."
The official statement in the police report stated Hall was verbally abusive at times during the incident, dragging his fiancee by her feet from the house and down the driveway at one point. According to the report, he later punched a hole in a bedroom door and put a gun to her head while allegedly saying, "I will (expletive) end it all. I don't care."
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Hall had left the residence before police arrived. He was arrested Tuesday morning before being arraigned in Avon Lake Municipal Court, where he posted a $10,000 personal bond and was given a no-contact order with his fiancee.
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. (51) catches his breath between plays during a preseason game Aug. 10 in Cleveland.
What has Mike Hall Jr. done with the Browns?
Hall had one assisted tackle and a quarterback hit against the Vikings.
Before Hall became embroiled in controversy, he made his NFL preseason debut in the Browns' first exhibition game, a 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 10.
Hall logged 29 of 54 defensive snaps (45%) and finished with one assisted tackle.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich . Chris Easterling contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mike Hall Jr. plays in Browns preseason game after arrest
