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It's been a long offseason for former Cincinnati Bengals corner Leon Hall, as his NFL career appears to be nearing an end within the coming years.
After all, the 31-year-old Hall (who turns 32 in December) has seen his play decline in recent years, mainly due to the after effects of two torn Achilles tendons. He's also coming off offseason back surgery, which has led to him not signing with a team as he rehabs.
Now, Hall is expected to make a decision on where he will play in 2016 by next week, according to Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910.
Hearing CB Leon Hall could make his decision some time next week. The nine-year veteran visited the Cards in March, coming off back surgery.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) June 20, 2016
Hall (31) has been on the Cards radar since he visited in March. Palmer & Fitzgerald were impressed w/ Hall after the game last year vs CIN.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) June 20, 2016
If Halls opts to sign with the Arizona Cardinals, he would join an already-talented secondary with Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. The previous relationship with Carson Palmer from their Bengals days could also help Arizona's pursuit of Hall.
Entering his 10th NFL season in 2016, Hall visited the Cardinals in March while also getting offseason interest from the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. Miami looks like a possible landing spot due to their lack of depth at safety and corner, not to mention former Bengals secondary coach Vance Joseph now being their defensive coordinator.
Hall also visited the New York Giants, but they look set at cornerback with Eli Apple, Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
There has been speculation Hall could play safety for his next team, whether it's with one of those teams or re-signing with the Bengals. There was a report last week that Hall was keeping in contact with the Bengals about a possible return, so perhaps they're still in the running to retain him.
Then again, Arizona offers a far better chance of playing significant snaps for a team that projects as a strong contender in the NFC. After Peterson, only Justin Bethel, Tyvon Branch, Asa Jackson, Carrington Byndom and Shaun Prater are standing between Hall and a starting corner spot in Arizona.
It's not much better at safety with the injury-prone Mathieu, Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger and rookie Marqui Christian being all the Cardinals have there. It's not crazy to think Hall could actually start games at both corner and safety for Arizona if that's where he lands.
Whatever Hall does, he'll always be remembered for his time with the Bengals when he was, at times, one of the NFL's best corners. Here's to hoping he ends his pro career on a high note.