Raiders coach Tom Cable said Monday that he and Al Davis are of like minds, that they won't stand by and let this season slip away without doing whatever it takes to snap the Raiders from their current funk.

Boy, he wasn't kidding. On Tuesday afternoon, Davis and other front-office people met to discuss the possibility of purging the roster of several high-profile players, including cornerback DeAngelo Hall and wide receiver Javon Walker, two people close to the situation confirmed.

Even contemplating the release of Hall, 24, qualifies as a major shocker. The Raiders traded second- and fifth-round draft picks to the Atlanta Falcons in March so that they could acquire Hall.

The Raiders did so with the hope that Hall would form a nice complement to standout cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and give the Raiders a pair of shutdown cornerbacks.

Hall struggled from the outset and gets targeted by opposing teams every game. By comparison, Asomugha has faced nine passes in eight games.

The Raiders are paying Hall $8 million - $1 million base salary plus a $7 million signing bonus - for this season. He is slated to earn $7.5 million in base salary and $9.05 million in the form of an option bonus in 2009.

Therefore, the Raiders could get out from under $16.55 million by releasing Hall. Player personnel employee Rich Snead spent part of Tuesday calling other teams to gauge the likelihood of Hall being claimed.

Davis, as always, is wary of releasing a player if there's a chance an AFC West rival will snap him up on the waiver wire.

One person familiar with the situation said no definitive personnel decisions would be made before today.

Walker, 30, is making $12 million combined in base salary and signing bonus this season. He recorded only 13 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown through the first eight games.

Coincidentally, Walker and Hall admitted that they contemplated retirement at some point since joining the Raiders.

In other moves, the Raiders placed outside linebacker Robert Thomas on the injured-reserve list. He sustained a hamstring injury Sunday against the Falcons. He is out for the season.

The Raiders signed linebacker Marquis Cooper, 26, to take Thomas' spot on the 53-man roster. He has played for four teams since joining the league in 2004.