season. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel opted to start Hal at starting free safety over Corey Moore for the playoffs and the Texans went on to defeat the Oakland Raiders 27–14 in the AFC Wildcard Game. On January 14, 2017, Hal recorded six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass Tom Brady during a 34–16 loss at the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. 2017 Hal entered training camp slated as the starting free safety and saw minimal competition from Corey Moore, K. J. Dillon, and Eddie Pleasant. Defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel named Hal the starting free safety to start the regular season, along with strong safety Corey Moore. On August 31, 2017, the Houston Texans signed Hal to a three-year, $15 million contract extension with $7 million guaranteed. On October 1, 2017, Hal recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by Marcus Mariota during a 57–14 victory against the Tennessee Titans. The following week, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Texans' 42–34 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished the season with a career-high 71 combined tackles (47 solo), five pass deflections, and three interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. The Houston Texans did not qualify for the playoffs after finishing with a 4–12 record. Pro Football Focus gave Hal an overall grade of 78.5, ranking 44th among all qualifying safeties in 2017. 2018 On June 6, 2018, it was revealed that Hal was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on September 1, 2018. After his cancer went into remission on September 26, 2018, he was activated off the NFI list to the active roster on October 20, 2018. Hal made his first start of 2018 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7 on October 21, 2018. He had one tackle in the 20-7 win. He finished the season with 13 tackles, five passes defended, and three interceptions through eight games and two starts. Retirement On April 2, 2019, Hal announced his retirement from the NFL. References External links Vanderbilt profile 1992 births Living people American football cornerbacks Houston Texans players Vanderbilt Commodores football players People from Port Allen, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American football safeties Ed Block Courage Award recipients