HEADLINES

DeAngelo Hall

NFC East Notes: Hall, Orakpo, Eagles

February 17th, 2014 at 9:24am CST by Rob DiRe

DeAngelo Hall and the Redskins are working on an extension, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. While Hall is often maligned for the flaws in his all around game, he still has supporters in Washington. “After an inconsistent 2012, Hall took a massive pay cut and became the Redskins’ best defensive back in 2013, recording four interceptions, scoring three defensive touchdowns and covering the opposing team’s best receiver,” Tarik El Bashir of CSNWashington.com writes. “He also took fewer penalties and seemed to embrace a leadership role in the locker room.” Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

  • While the team negotiates with Hall, the Redskins have a decision looming regarding what to do with the franchise tag. Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com believes the team will apply the non-exclusive tag on Brian Orakpo. The tag comes with a projected salary of $10.9MM, but will allow other teams to negotiate with Orakpo. The Redskins would still have the opportunity to match.
  • The Eagles may not be going after big names in free agency, but Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com has found three potential bargains the team could pursue. Marcus Benard, Graham Gano, and Ted Ginn Jr. could be options for the Eagles in 2014.
  • DallasNews.com put together a photo gallery highlighting ten offensive linemen the Cowboys could target in this year’s draft.

Redskins Rumors: Hall, Riley, Orakpo, Cousins

February 4th, 2014 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Within the last two days, we’ve heard reports that the Redskins are discussing new long-term contracts for free-agents-to-be DeAngelo Hall and Perry Riley. GM Bruce Allen confirmed as much today, telling Zac Boyer of the Washington Times that the team has engaged in negotiations with reps for those two players, as well as linebacker Brian Orakpo. According to Allen, the Redskins coaching staff is still evaluating the team’s free agents, so exact figures likely won’t be exchanged with those players and their agents until the end of the month.

Here’s more on the Redskins:

  • Within Boyer’s piece, Allen also indicated that Kirk Cousins hadn’t requested a trade and that the team plans to have its second-string quarterback back next season: “There’s no change from our perspective on Kirk. That’s it. We’re comfortable with Kirk.” For what it’s worth, the weekend report on Cousins suggested he was open to a trade, not that he’d asked for one.
  • Allen also spoke to Boyer about the limitations that the 2012 and 2013 cap penalties still place on the Redskins: “We have the same [cap] number everybody else does this year, which is different, but if you look at the cap room around the league, that’s because everybody carried room over from the previous year, so we don’t have that. We have a lot of free agents. We have a lot of holes on the team that we need to fill, and the key is to look at our guys first and then we’ll look around, but having an understanding of what’s also in the draft.”
  • ESPN.com’s John Keim examines a few ways the Redskins could clear even more cap space, and takes an in-depth look at the club’s cornerback situation.
  • Replying to Keim’s cornerback piece, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter) that Aqib Talib looks like a logical free agent target for Washington, given Talib’s connection to Allen, who drafted him in Tampa Bay, and Redskins DB coach Raheem Morris, who coached him in Tampa.

Hall, Redskins Talking Multiyear Deal

February 3rd, 2014 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Redskins have begun to negotiate a new multiyear contract with veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall, reports Mike Jones of the Washington Post. The free-agent-to-be spent the 2013 season playing on a one-year, $1.25MM deal.

Hall, a former eighth overall pick, grew up cheering for the Redskins and has played for the club since the 2008 season, so it’s not a surprise that he’d like to work out a new deal to remain in Washington. Meanwhile, the Redskins are projected to be among the teams with the most cap flexibility this offseason, and have indicated a desire to be active in free agency. That will likely include bringing back a handful of their own free agents, including Hall and perhaps linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Advanced stats historically haven’t been kind to Hall, who still considers himself the best cornerback in the league. However, he had a strong 2013 season, and was the most explosive playmaker on the defensive side of the ball in Washington, returning a fumble and a pair of interceptions for touchdowns. At age 30, Hall may not receive a long-term extension, but it at least sounds like the Redskins are interested in locking him up for more than one year.