DeAngelo Hall happy to take pay cut for chance to win

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall had been scheduled to make $8 million in 2013: Instead, he was cut before free agency so the Washington Redskins could get under the salary cap. In April, he re-signed in Washington for approximately $2 million.

Hall isn't upset about losing around $6 million. Entering his 11th season, Hall told "NFL Total Access" on Tuesday that it's all about winning.

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"For me, this time around, it wasn't about the money," he said "We started something here in Washington with coach (Mike) Shanahan, and that was the biggest thing I wanted to stress. I felt like my contract -- along with (Albert) Haynesworth -- were the reasons we were in the situation we were in. So for me, it wasn't about the money."

The Redskins are dealing with an $18 million cap penalty this season stemming from how contracts were structured in 2010, the NFL's uncapped season prior to the new collective bargaining agreement.

Hall's new deal helped the Redskins get under the cap, but given his age and production, it's likely he would have had to take some form of a pay cut even if the Redskins weren't cap-strapped.

Hall said he's made plenty of money in his career, including $8 million to play eight games on the Oakland Raiders in 2008.

"I wanted to come back here (to the Redskins)," Hall said. "I wanted to finish something I started. I grew up in the Virginia Beach area. I'm a local l kid, went to Virginia Tech. I want to be a part of this football team. I've been a part of it when we weren't so good. So to finally be on the cusp of being great, I want to be a part of that. I was willing to take a pay cut and get back on this football team to help us win."

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Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III's health will play a big role in that. Hall said he hopes RG3 will be ready, but if he's not, the team has faith in backup Kirk Cousins to lead them to the playoffs.

"If (Griffin's) ready to go, we're all for it," Hall said. "We can't wait to have him out there. But if he's not, like I said, we feel great having Kirk out there, whoever else we put out there in different schemes and all that to win football games."

Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.