In a surprising development, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that the Oakland Raiders could release cornerback DeAngelo Hall as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
If they do — and the team was planning on doing it Tuesday before it held off — Oakland will have paid Hall $8 million for eight games and Atlanta a second-round pick for the cornerback’s services.
Oakland is planning to waive him now so as to avoid paying Hall the $16 million worth of injury-guaranteed bonuses in his contract. It is too much of a risk for a Raiders team that still needs to do more rebuilding.
If Oakland follows through, Hall would be placed on waivers, leaving playoff contenders with the question of whether they should put in a claim for him. If Hall goes unclaimed, he would be free to sign with any team.
This is absolutely shocking. Schefter doesn’t say why Oakland would be parting with Hall, but one has to wonder if he’s become a distraction not worthy of his play and price tag. Word has it that he was running his mouth off on his former Atlanta teammates in the tunnel at halftime last Sunday, but he would have to have done more than that to deserve a release.
Hall was absolutely abused by Eddie Royal on Monday Night Football in Week 1 and rookie QB Matt Ryan and former teammate Michael Jenkins made him look silly on Sunday, too. But still, Hall is coming off his best year as a pro and it cost the Raiders millions of dollars and multiple draft picks to acquire him from Atlanta. Strange.
Marc Gasol was a throw-in in the Lakers/Grizzlies trade that brought his brother, Pau Gasol, to Los Angeles.
