Story here. Well, technically, they didn’t cut him, they waived him, since he’s a vested veteran.
Of all the stupid things old Al has done lately, this might be the dumbest. Here’s the sequence of events.
Trade 2nd- and 5th- round picks to Atlanta for a well-known malcontent.
Sign well-known malcontent to $80 million contract.
Pay him $8 million for 8 games, then dump him.
They got absolutely nothing in return. The picks they traded to Atlanta weren’t even conditional!
What makes this story even weirder is that Al loves speed, and Hall is one of the fastest players in the league; moreover, while he was burned constantly during the first couple of games this season, his play improved every week and he was playing really well by last week, when he held Roddy White to 54 yards.
The upshot is that arguably the most physically gifted player in the league is now on waivers, and while his new team will inherit his big contract if they claim him rather than waiting for him to clear, it’s pretty palatable; the salary cap number is basically 6-8 million each year.
I bet Detroit is salivating right now, considering its junior varsity talent at cornerback.
Al Davis I am convinced is completely senile at this point. “Sooper Geenius” indeed. I was a big fan of this franchise during its 70’s/80’s heyday but they lost that “aura” long ago (lost the ability to recognize talent really).
Not only that, there is now hope for them of being surpassed for the (dis)honor of being regarded as the worst managed team in the league.
As far as Hall goes, ouch, a 2nd and a 5th for essentially nothing. I thought he was over-rated a bit in Atlanta but damn. The Broncos might want him considering their difficulties when Champ is out of the line-up, Mike Shanahan has a better track record for reforming players than Bonehead Davis does.
I don’t think the Broncos can afford to have that kind of money tied up at corner- they gave Dre’ Bly $18 million in bonus money last year.
As a player, I don’t think Hall was overrated at all. He consistently shut down Steve Smith, and Joey Galloway while he was in Atlanta, and his troubles in Oakland seem to be due to the all-man coverage scheme that Rex Ryan likes so much, which is unsurprising considering that Jim Mora’s system was nearly all zone.
Anyone want to help me pick a new team to root for?
ETA: on topic. I liked Hall, I thought he was starting to finally meld with the team over the last several weeks. Good on whoever picks him up.
We have had some good DBs in recent history. The do not appear to perform but the lack of a pass rush means they have to cover a very fast athlete for about 10 minutes. It gets hard.
Hall cleared waivers today unclaimed, by the way. Word is that he’s looking for a playoff contender where he’ll get to step right in and play - I can think of three or four off the top of my head where he’d fit perfectly. I know I’d love to see him in a Pats uniform, given our pass defense this year and our success with such players in the past.
Hall was absolute trash compared to Aso on the other side. He was constantly picked on like a whore and he had to play 10 yards off the receiver to not get burned (and he still did). Hall is terribly overrated. He puts up good pick numbers, but I will take a CB like Aso who almost NEVER gets thrown at over him any day.
I think it’s smart to let him go, but it was stupid to have ever signed him. His play on the field wasn’t the only thing that got him booted out either.
He signed with the Redskins today, a prorated $1 million one year contract with a guarantee that they won’t use the franchise tag on him at the end of the year.
