Las Vegas Raiders April Fools: 5 worst free agent signings in history

Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks threw for 238 yards as the Houston Texans defeated the Oakland Raiders by a score of 23 to 14 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, December 3, 2006. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks threw for 238 yards as the Houston Texans defeated the Oakland Raiders by a score of 23 to 14 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, December 3, 2006. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
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NEW ORLEANS – OCTOBER 12: Reggie Bush #25 of the New Orleans Saints avoids a tackle by DeAngelo Hall #23 of the Oakland Raiders on October 12, 2008 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS – OCTOBER 12: Reggie Bush #25 of the New Orleans Saints avoids a tackle by DeAngelo Hall #23 of the Oakland Raiders on October 12, 2008 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

2. DeAngelo Hall, CB, Atlanta Falcons

DeAngelo Hall is the rare double dip of awfulness as he would qualify for a list of the worst trades and signings in Raiders history. In 2008 the Raiders traded a second and fifth round pick to Atlanta Falcons for the Hall and subsequently signed him to a seven-year, $70 million contract with $24.5 million guaranteed.

This would have been a tremendous contract by today’s standards and was an albatross of a deal for a player that was just entering his prime. In four years with the Falcons, Hall racked up an impressive 17 interceptions and was one of the fastest players in the league.

Unfortunately for the Raiders they never got to see the full breadth of Hall’s talent as he played just eight games in the Silver and Black before being released for not being a good schematic fit though he managed to record three interceptions.

He was the latest in a series of contracts paid out by a chaotic front office that was emblematic of the last years of Al Davis’s reign. Hall went on to play another nine years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and showed that he always had the ability to be a top corner in the league but just didn’t work out in Oakland.

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