Eastwood Mailman

(NFL) - Oakland captured the NFL’s attention when it fired Lane Kiffin and hired Tom Cable. Now it is about to do it again — in a far more stunning fashion.

The Raiders are on the verge of releasing Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Wednesday, according to multiple NFL sources.

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.

Last off-season, when the Falcons shopped Hall, the teams most interested in the cornerback were the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. The New England Patriots also have been in search of cornerback help.

Any one of those teams could put in a waiver claim for Hall, but it would be obligated to pick up his contract. If no one claims Hall, he could sign with the team of his choosing.

Do Not, I repeat DO NOT, sleep on this opportunity to have a shut down corner, added to our horrible secondary. DeAngelo Hall would be a great addition to the team, why not add him? If they are going to make a serious push toward the playoffs, they need to do something about that secondary, especially if they are going to go up against the likes of Randy Moss and Teddy Ginn Jr. The guys that are back there right now are horrible at best. We lost out on Tony Gonzalez, now we loose out on DeAngelo Hall. Say goodbye to the playoffs again this year. On a side note, news flash to James Hardy, Marshawn Lynch and Leodis McKelvin step your damn game up, cause right now Manley could step in and do a better job.