Rebuilding Falcons decide: Skills aside, Hall has got to go

The Atlanta Falcons have strongly considered keeping cornerback DeAngelo Hall. They really have. Despite his propensity for being a me-first player, cover corners are hard to find.

Hall was not exactly a favorite of former Falcons coach Bobby Petrino. (Getty Images)

But when Hall, who can void out his contract after the 2008 season, started squawking about a new deal -- one source said his asking price went as high as $10 million a year -- the Falcons had no choice but to let him look around for a trade.

With Atlanta close to dealing him to the Oakland Raiders for a second- and sixth-round pick in this year's draft, Hall might be getting his wish to get out of Atlanta.

First, the Raiders have to agree to a deal with Hall, which won't be easy. Nothing in dealing with Hall ever is.

That's part of the reason he fell out of favor in Atlanta. Former coach Jim Mora had a tendency to baby Hall early in his career, according to team sources. When Hall continuously parked in a handicapped spot, nothing was done until someone higher up finally put down the hammer. The source says Hall parked there again anyway.

It's that type of behavior that helped him wear out his welcome. Bob Petrino, the Falcons coach last year before leaving to take over at Arkansas, really disliked Hall -- and vice versa. Shortly after taking over, Petrino wanted to take down Hall's portrait near his office, where a select few Falcons stars are prominently featured, because he didn't like the way Hall was working or conducting himself. A staff member talked Petrino out of doing so.

Now that's disdain.

The discord worsened when Hall got three penalties late in a loss to the Carolina Panthers that led to the game-tying score. Hall later had a sideline confrontation with Petrino for all to see.

A team would be dumb to trade for a player of Hall's status, baggage included, without giving him a long-term extension. He could leave after one season. That would be renting a player.

The Giants talked with Hall about a contract, but none could be reached. So no deal was made, even though the Giants would have parted with their first-round pick and a player.

Next came Jacksonville. The Jaguars were granted a 24-hour window to negotiate with Hall but lso couldn't agree to a deal. That led to the team signing Drayton Florence as a free agent.

New Falcons coach Mike Smith is defensive-minded. There's no doubt he would have loved to have Hall on his team. The two even had a lengthy talk at the NFL scouting combine after Hall showed up to scream to the media that he wanted to be traded. At that time, it appeared maybe Hall would stay.

In the end, though, the Falcons are willing to give up a solid cover player because they know what lies ahead if they don't. If he didn't get the big contract, he'd probably gripe all year long, and the Falcons weren't ready to meet his asking price.