John Schneider just made his stance on Seahawks' Derick Hall crystal clear

Derick Hall was suspended for the Seattle Seahawks' Week 17 game versus the Carolina Panthers. In Week 16, Hall stepped on the ankle of Los Angeles Rams guard Kevin Dotson, and the NFL ruled he had done it intentionally. General manager John Schneider disagreed.

While Mike Macdonald said as much in the days ahead of Week 17, Schneider echoed his opinion without even saying a word on game day. The GM wore a blue blazer, but underneath that was a Seahawks jersey, and the number on the jersey was 58. That is Hall's number.

While Schneider himself won't be fined for the move, it is quite likely the league won't like the GM making such a bold move to show he believes his player shouldn't have been suspended. The play was certainly questionable, and Hall might have been able to avoid Dotson, but just don't ask Schneider if he could have.

John Schneider speaks volumes by saying nothing about Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Derick Hall

Hall is in his third season, and he was not known as a dirty player. Intent was clearly important to what he did against LA, but he had no history of trying to potentially hurt another player. Dotson was injured on the play, but it happened before Hall stepped on him.

This season, Hall has taken a step back in terms of raw production. He had eight sacks in 2024, but just one this season. Hall also has just two tackles for loss. He is getting fewer reps as the team is going with much more of a rotation of edge rushers, but his statistical fall is still precipitous.

No matter, his absence will put more stress on the rest of the edge rush group for at least one game. The good part is that through the first half of the game against the Carolina Panthers, Seattle's defense was once again in peak form. Except for another Sam Darnold turnover, the Panthers might have been held scoreless.

Potentially, Derick Hall could see the unspoken statement that John Schneider made about him and be even more motivated to be a problem in Week 18 versus the San Francisco 49ers. That's the hope anyway.