A Hall pass is in order for Redskins cornerback

• Patriots coach Bill Belichick got a $50,000 for touching replacement official
• How much leeway a player gets to argue a call depends on the official
• Redskins coach Mike Shanahan fears three-time Pro Bowler will be suspended

Sometime soon, DeAngelo Hall will be reprimanded by the NFL for his bizarre outburst near the end of a loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

But a suspension for the fiery Washington Redskins cornerback — who berated head linesman Dana McKenzie and had to be restrained by teammates — would be out of line. After all, the league didn't suspend Bill Belichick after the heated New England Patriots coach actually touched a replacement official after a loss at Baltimore in September.

Belichick was fined $50,000 for making contact with an official after a game filled with questionable calls by replacement officials.

That penalty coincided with a $25,000 fine levied on Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan for blowing up at an official on the field and in the tunnel to the locker rooms at the conclusion of a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier the same day.

Given those action by the league, a hefty fine seems likely for Hall — who has had his share of on-field confrontations, but is not believed to have been fined for abusing an official. According to the fine schedule outlined in the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and players, the first offense for verbal abuse of an official is $21,000.

Still, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan raised the possibility of a suspension for the three-time Pro Bowler.

Hall got testy with McKenzie after getting off the turf, where he tangled with Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders at the end of a play.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Hall never revealed what set him off. It appeared his facemask may have been yanked.

Whatever he said to McKenzie drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. When he circled back to further vent, he drew another flag and was ejected from the game.

Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, one of the players who restrained Hall, said he wasn't certain what transpired. But Fletcher, a 15th-year veteran, said that it's conceivable some officials would have allowed Hall to vent — to a certain extent — if he protested what he believed was a missed call.

How much leeway an official provides before throwing a flag depends on the official. It's unclear what Hall said to McKenzie to get tossed.

One thing is certain, at least at the moment: Hall won't have a meeting this week with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — a face-to-face Hall requested after the game.

Hall's case is being handled by Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president for football operations — which is consistent with such matters. Anderson typically handles the discipline. But that could change, pending an appeal.

Hall's case has the potential for major fallout if he is suspended while the NFL tries to get a final resolution on the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. In rejecting Goodell's punishment from the bounty case, players have revived arguments that the commissioner has too much power.

If Hall is suspended, weeks after Belichick and Kyle Shanahan were only fined, the NFL Players Association would have fresh artillery in its campaign against Goodell's broad powers. Eventually, an appeal by Hall would go to the commissioner, so he'd get that meeting with Goodell after all.