BEREA, Ohio — After trading defensive end Za'Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions ahead of the NFL trade deadline, the Browns are looking for guys across the defensive line to step up and fill the void. One of the players who could help, rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr., will have to wait to do that.
Hall was not at practice on Friday. He had been added to the team's injury report on Thursday after sustaining a knee injury during the practice session.
Following Friday's practice, the Browns ruled Hall out for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that Hall sustained the injury during drills on Thursday. The injury is significant enough that Hall is expected to miss extended time. He is a candidate
to be placed on injured reserve, which would sideline him at least four games.
Hall, the Browns' second-round pick in this year's draft, missed the first five games of the season on the Commissioner's Exempt list after he was given a five-game suspension following a domestic violence arrest.
In the four games Hall has played this season, he's been on the field for 101 defensive snaps and 26 special teams snaps, recording five total tackles, two solo, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
On Thursday, before Hall's injury, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said that Hall is a guy who they could ask to play more defensive end and shift on the line with Smith no longer on the team.
"We got a couple of guys that can do that. Mike Hall played a little bit of end for us, too, and he’s got enough athletic ability and some speed and some power," Schwartz said. "We’ll miss a lot about Z is he was a productive player but just he brought a lot of energy to us, good personality, good leader for us. So, we don’t just have to step up on the field but also off the field to fill that void a little bit.”
The good news is that aside from Hall's knee injury, the Browns—fresh off their bye week—are healthy. Every other player on the active roster practiced this week, and no other players were given injury designations.
The Browns and Saints kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Caesars Superdome.
