| Andrew Perna. 27th February, 2009 - 4:03 pm
 Last year, DeAngelo Hall signed a seven-year deal with the Raiders worth $70 million.
After a disappointing first eight games in Oakland, he was waived, but still took home around $24 million in guarantees from the deal. He caught on with the Redskins soon after and set himself up for yet another huge payday.
The Redskins have kept Hall in their secondary for the long-term with a six-year deal worth $54 million ($22.5 guaranteed). Yes, that means in the last twelve months he’s signed two contracts worth a combined $124 million. There’s no need to adjust your computer monitor.
Of course, he didn’t end up banking the full value of his contract with the Raiders, but has still deposited $46.5 million in guarantees over the last two years.
Washington owner Dan Snyder was eager to re-sign Hall and land defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. The pair could earn up to $154 million from the club if they play out the full lives of their contracts, making the Redskins the NFL’s version of the Yankees through the first twelve hours of the free-agent signing period.
Hall played in seven games for the Redskins last season, beginning in Week 11, tallying two interceptions and eight passes deflected. He caught on rather quickly to Washington’s defense, moving high up the depth chart in a relatively short period of time.
His interception total tied for the most among the team’s cornerbacks -- Carlos Rogers had two as well, and he is now expected be a starter alongside Rogers heading into the 2009 season.
It hard to justify, however, signing Hall to such a lucrative deal just a year after he proved that he wasn’t worth a tremendous amount of money. I suppose you could credit the Redskins with having offered Hall $16 million less than the Raiders did last offseason, but you can’t ignore the fact that he’s left his only two other NFL teams on negative terms.
He’s an above-average cornerback, having tallied four or more interceptions in four consecutive seasons, with only one cornerback having tallied more picks in 2008 (combining his Oakland/Washington numbers).
With that said, he’s never had more than six interceptions and ranked higher than seventh overall in the league in terms of picks.
Hall, 25, is still technically in the prime of his athletic career, but if you ask me, he isn’t the same defensive back that entered the NFL out of Virginia Tech back in 2004. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’ll have a great season for the Redskins, but there’s no guarantee that his head will remain in the game for six years.
If he excels in 2009, then the Redskins look like geniuses and Hall becomes a refreshing revival story. If not, they could follow the way of the Raiders and simply swallow the more than $22.5 million needed to get him out of their hair.
Grade for Hall: A
Either way, it’s hard not to think of Washington as having overpaid for Hall, allowing him to cash in on a huge payday for the second straight year.
Grade for Redskins: C+
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
