CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns rookie defensive lineman Mike Hall Jr. has been suspended five games following his arrest in connection with a domestic violence incident back in August, the NFL announced Tuesday.
Hall has been on the league's commissioner's exempt list since Aug. 26 and has yet to play a down in the regular season. Under the terms of the NFL's personal conduct policy, all four games Hall has missed while on the list will count towards his suspension, meaning he will be eligible to return to the field following Cleveland's fifth game this Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
The Browns selected Hall, a Streetsboro native and All-Big Ten standout at Ohio State, with their top pick in the second round of this year's NFL draft. He was expected to play a major role in the team's front seven, but things were thrown into flux on the evening of Aug. 12, when Avon police took the 21-year-old into custody for allegedly assaulting the mother of his young son.
In the original incident report, Hall's fiancée claimed he dragged her and held a gun to her head before telling her. "I will (expletive) end it all." However, she later recanted part of her statement, telling prosecutors she was "mistaken" when she claimed Hall "pressed the firearm against her temple" and threatened her. 3News Investigates also uncovered a previous altercation between the couple, with the woman being accused of hitting Hall in the head with a glass bottle at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus last year. Charges against the fiancée were eventually dropped after Hall refused to cooperate.
Hall was initially charged with domestic violence and assault in connection with this case and released on bond. On Sept. 19, Hall chose to plead no contest to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, with Avon Lake Municipal Court Judge Allison Manning handing Hall a 30-day suspended jail sentence along with two years of probation.
Hall returned to training camp with the team immediately following his arrest. Upon being placed on the exempt list, he was removed from the 53-man roster and barred from all team activities. Due to the suspension, he will have to forfeit his salary for all games missed while on leave.
In confirming Hall's punishment, the Browns offered no comment of their own and referred to the NFL's announcement on the matter.
