As the Detroit Lions possibly look to the trade market for defensive help, a young corner out of the AFC East looks like an interesting possibility.
The Detroit Lions took a Week 6 bye to get some injured players healthy and regroup. The week off came at good time. But now it’s back to business, and it’s worth noting the trade deadline is coming quickly on Nov. 1.
According to Matt Lombardo of Heavy, New York Jets cornerback Bryce Hall will be available heading into the trade deadline.
#Jets CB Bryce Hall is going to be available at the #NFL trade deadline, per sources.
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) October 17, 2022
Hall, 24, has seen his snaps cut dramatically after NY added DJ Reed and Sauce Gardner, but is one year removed from finishing 2nd in forced incompletions, and is best fit for man-schemes. pic.twitter.com/qoLQHOkNh2
Hall fell to the fifth round of the 2020 draft due to a broken leg and dislocated ankle during his final season at Virginia, otherwise he might have been a first-round pick. He started seven of his eight games as a rookie, but 2021 was more of a breakthrough.
Hall started all 17 games last season for the Jets, totaling 79 tackles and 16 pass breakups (zero interceptions though). And as Lombardo cited, he was second in the league in forced incompletions.
The Jets made cornerback a priority during the offseason, signing DJ Reed in free agency and using the fourth overall pick in the draft on Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. So Hall has played in just one of the first six games this season, and even then he played just five defensive snaps in Week 1.
Detroit Lions should be toward the front of the line for Bryce Hall
Apart from his skills, which can certainly help any team in need of a cornerback, Hall is also of course on a cheap rookie contract as a fifth-round pick.
Via Over the Cap:
2022 cap hit: $973,950
2023 cap hit: $1,088,950
The salary obligation for an acquiring team wouldn’t be the full 2022 freight, merely a prorated portion, and Hall is under contract for less than $1.1 million next year.
A talented young cornerback on a cheap contract for the next year-plus, who would best fit man-coverage schemes? If Lions general manager Brad Holmes doesn’t have a call to Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas on his agenda soon, he is bordering on being derelict in his duties.