Raiders release former second-round pick P.J. Hall

The Las Vegas Raiders have released former second-round pick, P.J. Hall.

When the Las Vegas Raiders selected FCS standout P.J. Hall in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, many saw the pick as a bit of a reach at the time.

And after just two years with the team, it seems as though those critiques were accurate.

As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders have released the former second-round pick after a brief two-year stint with the team.

Hall dominated at the FCS level excelling at Sam Houston State and after an impressive performance at the NFL Combine that saw him run a blazing 4.73 40-yard dash, his draft stock began to skyrocket.

Evidently, the Raiders took notice and opted to select him much earlier than most expected with the 57th overall pick in the draft. Unfortunately, while Hall’s athletic prowess was evident, he remained incredibly raw as a prospect.

The Texas native played 14 games in his rookie season making six starts, but he failed to make much of an impact. Hall totaled just 22 tackles and four tackles for loss while failing to record a sack.

And it wasn’t as if his 64.9 Pro Football Focus grade indicated very much hidden production. The hope going into 2019 was that Hall would take the next step forward and show the talent he once showed at Sam Houston State.

Unfortunately, despite given an increased role starting 12 games, his performance didn’t improve very much as he managed only 1.5 sacks and a slightly better 70.2 PFF grade.

The Raiders brought in extra competition for P.J. Hall in the offseason.

The Raiders signed former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Maliek Collins in the offseason to join the likes of Johnathan Hankins and Maurice Hurst on the interior of the Raiders’ defensive line.

Hall faced an uphill battle entering training camp to not only earn a role in the defensive line rotation, but keep his roster spot. And clearly, this is a battle he lost.

Head coach Jon Gruden made comments last week about how Hall showed up to training camp overweight a year ago. And over his two-year stint with the team, questions about his work ethic and weight followed him.

Perhaps that was a leading factor in the team’s decision to give up on him so quickly. There’s a very good chance that had something to do with it.

Hall will now look to find a new home with another team — something that seems very likely given his raw talent.

The Raiders, meanwhile, will move forward with Hankins, Hurst, and Collins leading the charge at defensive tackle.