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DeAngelo Hall Will Miss Rest Of Season With Torn ACL

By Jacob Camenker

Sep 12, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) catches a touchdown as Washington Redskins strong safety DeAngelo Hall (23) and cornerback Bashaud Breeland (26) defend during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) catches a touchdown as Washington Redskins strong safety DeAngelo Hall (23) and cornerback Bashaud Breeland (26) defend during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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DeAngelo Hall is going to miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. How are the Redskins going to replace the veteran?

The Washington Redskins worst fears were realized on Monday when it was confirmed that their starting safety DeAngelo Hall had torn his ACL. Hall had left Sunday’s game against the New York Giants with a knee injury, and he had to be helped off of the field. He was unable to put weight on the leg, and he told reporters after the game that he had likely torn his ACL. This news was confirmed today by Erin Hawksworth of ABC7 News.

While the loss of Hall will hurt the Redskins, the team is lucky that they have enough talent to replace his production on the field.

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To begin the season, the Redskins surprisingly kept five safeties on their roster. They had a talented group at the position, but usually teams only elect to keep four safeties, especially when they have great cornerback depth like the Skins do. This move is going to pay off with the injury to Hall, as they have two experienced options who could step in right away.

The first is 10 year veteran Will Blackmon. Blackmon is entering his second season with the Redskins, and he has been a solid return man and depth player. He moved to safety this offseason given the young talent the team had at corner and the need for players at safety. The converted player has not seen much action yet, but he should fare well in coverage if given a chance to get on the field. He did defend eight passes for the team last year in a limited role, and his experience could be huge for the secondary.

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The other option for the team is playing Duke Ihenacho as a starter. Ihenacho is in his fifth year and his third with the Redskins. He has only 15 total starts under his belt, but part of that was due to injury issues that have popped up since he joined the Skins. He was originally going to be a starter, but he was never healthy. Now that he is, he may have a chance to break into the lineup and make some tackles. Ihenacho is a good all-around player, but he is at his best in run support.

While either choice is a good option, I have a feeling the Redskins will start the latter. Blackmon is simply too valuable to them on special teams so they will not want to risk injuring him by overplaying him, especially since he has a long list of injuries. Ihenacho can play most downs with Blackmon in when they need extra coverage. This situation would also give the team a solid backup coverage guy (Blackmon) and a good run support backup (Deshazor Everett) so that will help to further balance the team.

Hall’s injury is going to hurt the Redskins. He was one of their veteran leaders, and his personality will definitely be missed. However, in terms of performance he will be replaceable and the Redskins performance should not suffer too much.

Next: Redskins Breakdown Week 3 vs. Giants

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