“This locker room will never be the same,” said DeAngelo Hall as his teammates cleared out their lockers in the annual end-of-season ritual. “This group of guys will never be the same.”
There are changes in NFL rosters every year, even after successful seasons. And the Redskins cornerback is well aware that he could be one of the guys who is not back in 2013.
Hall, who has been with the team since 2008, is scheduled to make $7.5 million next year. He had his moments this year but it would be fair to say that he did not play at a level that would justify that high a salary. That along could bring Hall’s continued presence on he roster into question but there are additional factors working against him. The team will have to work around an $18 million salary cap penalty again this year. Also, because of the way his contract was restructured the Redskins could release him with little or no dead cap charges.
When asked if he thought he would be back in 2013, Hall said that hasn’t been discussed yet.
“That’s something we’ll address this offseason,” he said. “We’ll figure out if it’s worth me coming back. If not we can redo something. We’ll see what happens.”
His willingness to “redo” his deal may be critical but it depends on how that is defined. Sometimes it means getting a pay cut, sometimes it means moving money around in order to change the cap hit. Hall would likely have to accept a cut in actual dollars and not just a restructuring of his current deal.
Hall sounds like he might be willing to accept a lesser paycheck.
“I definitely want to be back. We definitely have something special here,” he said. “You can see all the pieces in place, you definitely want to be a part of it.”
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