If Washington Redskins safety DeAngelo Hall's season-ending injury might lead others to suspect the playmaking defensive back's 13-year NFL career is over, he was adamant Monday that won't be the case.
"I'll be back, you can bet your life on that!!!!!!!" Hall tweeted.
Hall will miss the rest of this season with a torn ligament in his right knee, the third consecutive year the veteran will miss time with an injury. Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Monday that Hall needed surgery on his ACL.
"It's pretty significant," Gruden said.
"From a leadership standpoint, 'D-Hall' has done a lot for this organization, a lot for this team," the coach said. "He's going to be missed."
Hall, who turns 33 in November, was hurt in the first half of Washington's 29-27 victory at the NFC East rival New York Giants on Sunday.
He has spent the past nine seasons with the Redskins. After entering the league as a cornerback, taken with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2004 draft by Atlanta, Hall switched to safety last season.
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Hall missed five games in 2015. The season before, he was out 13 games, sidelined by a torn Achilles tendon.
"He's got to really take a look at it and see where he is once he does the rehab and if he wants to try it again," Gruden said. "I haven't talked to him about that, his future, yet. We just want him to get well first."
Will Blackmon, a cornerback until this season, will start at safety in Hall's place, Gruden said.
"Blackmon has become more comfortable back there. You can see that every day in practice and in the games," Gruden said. "We have total faith that he'll get the job done."
Hall's injury was the most serious for the Redskins (1-2) to deal with as they prepare to host the Cleveland Browns (0-3) next Sunday, but it was hardly the only one.
Cornerback Bashaud Breeland has strained tendons in his right ankle, which Gruden called a week-to-week issue. Yet another defensive back, Dashaun Phillips, has a strained hamstring.
Two offensive linemen also have problems that Gruden described as week to week: Left guard Shawn Lauvao (moderate ankle sprain) and center Kory Lichtensteiger (calf strain).
Rookie wideout Josh Doctson's Achilles tendon, which has bothered him since he joined the team, was sore during pregame warmups, so he was inactive against the Giants. "We've just got to continue to treat him and figure out the roots of the problem and try to get it fixed," Gruden said.
