Getty Las Vegas Raiders HC Jon Gruden.
Just when it looked like the Las Vegas Raiders were done with the P.J. Hall saga, the rug was pulled out from them once again. According to the Minnesota Vikings, the trade for the former second-round pick is no longer happening because Hall failed his physical. He will now be heading back to Las Vegas and will likely be having a talk with general manager Mike Mayock very soon.
DT P.J. Hall failed his physical and reverts to Las Vegas.
S Brian Cole II and WR Justin Jefferson have been activated from Reserve/COVID-19.
DT Armon Watts has been placed on Reserve/COVID-19.
The Raiders were planning on releasing Hall before the Vikings came in as a trade partner. They obviously thought that maybe he still had a chance to be an impact player. It’s now clear that he’s not physically ready for an NFL training camp, which is probably why the Raiders wanted to cut him in the first place.
Now that the Vikings won’t be taking him on, Hall is certainly a dead man walking. There’s no way the Raiders are going to have a change of heart and give him a second chance. He’ll have to try his luck on waivers.
Mayock Has Already Addressed Moving on From Hall
This whole thing has got to be a major headache for the Raiders. Hall was a second-round pick by the team in 2018 so it’s already not a great feeling that they want to move on from him. It’s also made a lot worse by the fact that they can’t seem to get rid of him. In fact, Mayock was on Raiders radio in Las Vegas on Monday and talked about the decision to let him go.
“P.J. was a second-round pick with a lot of talent,” Mayock said, via Vic Tafur. “(But there wasn’t) a level of consistency. We demand that of everyone.”
It’s highly unlikely that Mayock is going to walk back those comments and welcome Hall with open arms if he comes back to Las Vegas. This is far from an ideal situation for the Raiders to be in but it shouldn’t affect their day to day to too much.
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What’s Next for Hall?
Hall is going to come out of this whole situation looking really bad. Not only did the team that drafted him highly give up on him after two seasons, another team that was willing to give him a chance couldn’t take him because of a failed physical. Jon Gruden has complained about Hall showing up overweight last offseason. That was probably the case once again this year and that’s why they made the initial decision to let him go.
Hall will probably officially be put on waivers very soon and every team in the NFL will have a chance to claim. It’s far from a guarantee that any team will after this whole kerfuffle with the Raiders and Vikings. He does have talent but he needs to get in shape. It’s possible he doesn’t find himself on a team until the season is already in motion. If he doesn’t turn things around, he’s going to be a pretty big bust for a second-round pick.
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