Getty Houston Texans DT P.J. Hall.
When the Las Vegas Raiders took P.J. Hall with a second-round pick in 2018, it was a pretty big surprise. However, it wasn’t nearly as surprising as his Raiders tenure. He was called out by both general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden at separate points. It was then reported that he was going to get cut before the Minnesota Vikings came in and made a trade for him.
That trade fell through after a failed physical and then the Raiders cut him shortly after. It was a rocky couple of weeks for the former second-rounder but was able to land on his feet in Houston to play for the Texans.
“It’s definitely more comfortable,” Hall said recently. “It feels great knowing that like my family’s here. I’m from Seguin, so it’s two and a half hours down the road. It just feels like I’m back at home, like this is fresh air, like a fresh start.”
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Hall Opens up About Why Things Didn’t Work With Raiders
Hall has worked his way into the starting lineup for the Texans and has played pretty well. Unfortunately, Houston is having their worst season in years as they are 1-5 currently and already fired their head coach. Regardless, Hall seems happy to be there and gave some insight into why it didn’t work with the Raiders.
“I think things didn’t click when they needed to,” Hall said. “I feel like stuff happened over there and I think I couldn’t control it. So, once I got here everything started rolling just in time. I feel like it’s going good. Making sure that I stay focused and stay on track right now.”
Gruden had said that Hall came to training camp out of shape so that not really the Raiders’ fault. For whatever reason, it doesn’t sound like the silver and black resonated with Hall. He even said that he’s more comfortable with Houston.
“I feel like that’s why I’m playing better,” Hall said. “I feel more comfortable out there. I have great leadership out here, too. I feel like all those things are tying in.”
Should Raiders Have Kept Hall?
Now that Hall is playing well, it’s easy to say that the Raiders made a mistake getting rid of him. However, there’s no guarantee he would’ve been effective with them. As he said, he didn’t feel comfortable with the Raiders. That probably wasn’t going to change overnight.
It’s not great that the Raiders moved off of a recent second-round pick without getting anything in return. The fact he’s playing well makes the team look even worse. That said, Hall was brought in before Mayock was hired so he won’t take any heat for it. Gruden should take some heat though because he was around when they drafted him. The Raiders haven’t been great with second-round picks but 2019 second rounder Trayvon Mullen looks like the real deal so perhaps Mayock will buck the trend.
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