Silver and Black Report

The Oakland Raiders 2-6 start has frustrated owner Al Davis so much, that rumors are beginning to circulate regarding the future of several veterans on the roster.

According to ESPN and NFL Network reports, the Silver & Black could cut ties with DeAngelo Hall as early as Wednesday.

After being picked on by his former team, the Raiders may have grown tired of Hall’s play and may be ready to bite the bullet on his deal to avoid paying the $16 million in guarantees in his contract.

If Oakland does part ways with the two time pro bowl selection, teams could put a claim on him while he is on waivers, take on the contract, a scenario which is unlikely due to how much money is owed. If he clears waivers, Hall will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.

The Raiders sent a second round pick to Atlanta to acquire Hall. But the deal became official when they agreed to a seven-year, $70 million contract. His start in Oakland was a rocky one, as Denver’s rookie wide out Eddie Royal torched the talkative cornerback in the season opener for 9 receptions, 146 yards and one score. This after talking to the SBReport and stating, “It’s a good thing I don’t mess up [smiling],” when asked about how the Raider fans in the Coliseum react to players that don’t perform well.

Since then, teams have targeted him as the weak link of the secondary, refusing to challenge corner mate Nnamdi Asomugha, who went into the Atlanta game as the cornerback least tested in the NFL.

Raiders may also consider cutting wide receiver Javon Walker, who has been extremely disappointing after inking a six-year $55 million contract with $16 million in guarantees.

The former Packer and Bronco has only 13 receptions in seven games, and has been enigmatic since he arrived in the summer.

Since taking over as coach, Tom Cable has shook up the starting line-up, benching safety Michael Huff and wide receiver Ronald Curry, while giving indications that more changes may be coming.

Curry stated last week after his demotion, “It’s like the team gave up on me. You go from playing to getting one or two snaps a game, the decision is being made. I’m going to go out there and continue to work at practice, work at games and once the season’s over, the picture’s pretty clear.”

He has been the Raiders’ leading receiver each of the past two seasons and last year signed a five-year, $20 million extension that included $8.5 million guarantees.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when you go from that to not playing at all. Like I said, the picture’s pretty clear. I feel like my past kind of speaks for itself and I’ve shown that I can make plays and hopefully my talent will be wanted somewhere else.”

ANALYSIS

Parting ways with Hall may be a good thing. For one, they compensated the wrong cornerback this past off-season, and if they want to keep the better of the two, purging the team of bad contracts, especially Hall’s, may be the best situation in trying to keep Asomugha, who has stated in the past that he does not want to be franchised again.

Asomugha is a model citizen, has developed with the Raiders through the bad times and has become a fan favorite.

The Raiders spent a lot of money this off-season. Many of the players they brought in were gambles. The crapshoot with Hall has failed due to his style of play. He is not your typical cover corner in the Raider mold, and when teams pinpointed his deficiencies; it made the Raiders realize that he was not the cornerback they thought he was.

With Stanford Routt on the roster, losing Hall may not hurt them on the field as much and it will give them a better opportunity to lock up the player they should’ve some time ago.

Walker was needed to be their ‘go to’ target for JaMarcus Russell. He is far from that and no where near the receiver he was a few years back. They have not received any production from him. And at this point, with the money he makes, there is no reason to keep him on the roster, especially with the team ranking 31^st in the NFL passing the football.

When the season is over, Oakland will need another makeover, as the Kwame Harris experiment at left tackle has not worked and the situation over at right tackle isn’t a whole lot better.