While fans, reporters, and anyone else with a stake in the Cleveland Browns spent Sunday morning wondering if Deshaun Watson’s unfiltered press conference actually happened (oh, it was very real), the Browns slipped in a pair of major roster moves.
The first was placing starting defensive end Alex Wright on season-ending injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles. Wright was carted off the field during Thursday’s joint practice with Buffalo, and head coach Todd Monken confirmed the worst-case scenario during a Sunday Zoom call with reporters.
“Obviously we're disappointed for Alex,” Monken said of Wright, who had just signed a three-year extension with the team during the 2025 season. “In some ways, I've grown a little bit close to Alex in the last few months.”
In a corresponding move, Cleveland signed veteran edge rusher Derek Barnett. The pivot makes a lot of sense, as Barnett has spent the past three seasons with the Houston Texans who, under defensive coordinator Matt Burke, run a scheme similar to the one Jim Schwartz installed in Cleveland. With the Browns planning to keep a lot of the Schwartz principles moving forward under new DC Mike Rutenberg, Barnett should fit in well as a rotational defensive end.
But Barnett profiles as the type of signing the Browns were looking to make before Wright’s injury. Cleveland had already hosted both Jadeveon Clowney and Za’Darius Smith for workouts, and with the depth behind Jared Verse and Isaiah McGuire thinning out in a hurry, Rutenberg could have to get creative to fill the sizable void left by Wright.
Enter Mike Hall Jr., who experimented at defensive end during Saturday’s preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills and might have earned himself a longer look in the process.
Mike Hall Jr. could help save the Browns' pass rush by switching positions
Hall started the Bills game in Wright’s spot as the left-side defensive end, and you wouldn’t have known that he was a defensive tackle playing out on the edge. Hall only played 11 snaps against Buffalo’s backups, but he registered three pressures and a sack on Bills quarterback Kyle Allen, earning an 88.4 pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus.
The Browns used a second-round draft pick on Hall in 2024 and have gotten no return on that investment. His rookie season was derailed by a five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and a severe knee injury suffered during the final game of that season.
Cleveland’s defensive line was already depleted by training camp injuries prior to Wright going down. If Hall can continue to build on Saturday’s performance and become a real factor on the edge, he could save the Browns from what is now a dire situation.
Barnett should add value as a No. 4 edge rusher, but there was a reason why the Browns were already seeking reinforcements. Wright’s injury should open the door for undrafted rookies like Logan Fano, Tyreak Sapp, or Khordae Sydnor to make the 53-man roster, but the readiness of those players remains a giant question mark now just a few weeks out from the start of the regular season.
Hall has projected to be a depth defensive tackle behind starters Mason Graham and Maliek Collins this season. The Browns do have some depth there, if veteran Kalia Davis can get himself healthy and second-year pro Adin Huntington can take a leap.
Hall didn’t play much on the edge at Ohio State — just 28 of his total 714 collegiate snaps, per PFF. But his get-off at the line of scrimmage has been among the Browns’ best in practice this offseason, and he showed that on his sack Saturday, blowing past Buffalo’s lineman nearly untouched on his way to Allen.
It might be a long shot to expect Hall to blossom into a serviceable edge rusher, but we’ve reached a point where the Browns almost have to tinker with their roster and find whatever works best. The Hall draft pick has been among GM Andrew Berry’s worst on the job, but that could flip like a switch if he continues to line up and produce on the edge like he did in Saturday's preseason game.
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