Getty Jon Gruden with Mike Mayock.
The Las Vegas Raiders made news on Monday by first reportedly releasing former second-round pick P.J. Hall. However, it appears something happened in the eleventh hour to switch things up. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Minnesota Vikings are trading a conditional seventh-round pick for Hall.
Hall will need to make the roster and play six games for the Vikings if the Raiders will get anything. This is a win-win for Las Vegas. They are able to move on from Hall and still could get something out of it. For the Vikings, the defensive tackle still has talent, and playing under a defensive wizard like Mike Zimmer could help him turn his career around.
Hall’s main problem is that he hasn’t proven to be a hard worker in the past and that doesn’t fly with Jon Gruden. It will be tough for him to make a stacked Vikings defense so he’ll have to put in a lot of work.
Gruden Recently Called out Hall
The news that the Raiders are moving on from Hall shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Though second-round picks usually get more time to prove themselves, the team hasn’t been shy about calling him out.
“They have to prove they belong in this league. They have to prove they can be frontline guys,” Gruden told the media last week. “P.J. Hall, [Maurice] Hurst, [Arden] Key, those are three guys that we used high draft picks on. Arden has to stay healthy, P.J. Hall, I’m anxious to see where his weight is, he came in overweight last year and at that position that can’t happen. Maurice Hurst has had some good moments, but we need these guys to burst on the scene no question. Getting Rod Marinelli is the best thing I can do to allow that to happen.”
Once Gruden said that about Hall, it became very clear that he might not have a long-term future with the Raiders. The coach has been pretty ruthless with players who don’t put in the necessary work. Mike Zimmer is another old school type of coach and he won’t be any easier on Hall.
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More Cuts Coming
Hall is the biggest name to get cut by the Raiders since the start of training camp but there should be more on the way. The team is planning to cut the roster down to 80 players sooner than later. That means several more guys are on the chopping block. The Raiders have a large number of tight ends and wide receivers on the roster as it currently stands. Don’t be surprised if some of the pass-catchers are searching for new homes in the near future.
Most of the defensive line will probably stick around with Hall getting cut. The Raiders might try to trim down their secondary as they’ve got a decent number of options there. They also have a ridiculous number of offensive linemen. It’s almost a certainty that a handful of those players will be let go.
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Raiders Change Course, Trade Former 2nd-Round Pick to Vikings