Patriots: DeAngelo Hall Turning Down New England for Redskins is Laughable

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick approached DeAngelo Hall with an offer in 2008.

You might remember DeAngelo Hall from his days with the Atlanta Falcons when he was a two-time Pro Bowler. When things went sour in the Dirty South, the Falcons traded him to the Oakland Raiders before the 2008 season for a second-round pick. Hall inked a seven-year, $70 million deal with Oakland to make the trade official.

However, the Raiders — in classic Raiders fashion — cut Hall halfway through the 2008 season because he didn’t exactly match with their scheme. The veteran collected $8 million for playing eight games before being picked up by the Redskins shortly after.

But that deal with Washington was only for a year. He had a solid eight games with Oakland and another solid seven in the nation’s capital before becoming a free agent, eyeing another opportunity to land a big contract. Instead of more carefully considering other options with better teams, he stayed with Washington on a six-year, $54 million deal.

How’d that happen? Long story short, he spurned the New England Patriots.

“I remember negotiations for a new deal with Washington weren’t going well, and there were other teams in the picture, including New England,” Hall told NFL.com. “At that time, players didn’t take short-term deals, but Randy Moss had just signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the Patriots. I couldn’t believe it. In my own contract discussions with the Pats, I recall Bill Belichick telling me they couldn’t give me the contract Moss signed.

“Being a young and greedy knucklehead, I chose to stay in Washington on a long-term deal (six years, $54 million), which ultimately had me making the same per-year salary as Moss. Over a few million, I could’ve changed my legacy by being part of that dynasty. That was on the table for me, and I wish I would’ve made the decision to take less money and play for Belichick.”

Sure, it’s easy to blame Hall in hindsight, but who is going to turn down $23 million guaranteed and long-term security? Then again, Hall had just made all of his money on his rookie contract and collected $8 million for playing just eight games in 2008. We’re not saying he was rolling in the dough, but he certainly cashed in in some capacity.

Given the Redskins’ track record at that point vs the Patriots, any player serious about their career achievements would’ve chosen New England in a heartbeat. But Hall admitted he was swayed by the big bucks and stuck with Washington. The team made the playoffs just twice across his decade-long tenure and were ousted in the Wild Card Game both times.

Now do people get why players take less money to play for Belichick and the Pats?