A Whole Lot of Nothing

The photo seen here is definitely of happier times for defensive giant (pun most certainly intended) Albert Haynesworth. When former coach Jim Zorn and Daniel Snyder signed Haynesworth to his unbelievable contract for somewhere north of $100 million, there was a lot of talk about whether or not Haynesworth was worth the cost or not. Time always tells the tale and what it told Redskins fans was that a lot of money was dropped and not a whole lot of return on investment could be expected. Haynesworth definitely had his moments during his first tenuous weeks with the team but as time went on (and tempers began to inevitably flare) more and more people wondered whether or not Haynesworth really was worth all that money. The long and short of it is that he isn't.

A lot of players who play as hard as Haynesworth used to often get hurt and have to sit out a play or two once in a while, but when you (and your agent) are perpetuating the belief that you are worth $100 million you better believe that expectations are that much higher and when you don't live up to said expectations, it's not surprising to hear a lot of criticism, especially in a town like Washington. So what happens? Simple, coaching staff changes, player removals and trades and here we are a few short months from the start of a new season but still hearing the same from old Haynesworth. When new coach Mike Shanahan came into the picture, he didn't come through and make big sweeping changes that would have meant another long season for us fans, rather he decided to see what he had to work with and keep the team a work in progress.

That's great for Haynesworth who was more or less guaranteed his payout for the year provided that he at least did his part for the team. Now that Haynesworth went from his usual spot to being tried out as the nose tackle, all Hell broke loose and Haynesworth couldn't be bothered to show up for practice. His agent began spreading the word that Haynesworth was looking to be traded, and Shanahan, not one to mince words said that he and the team would certainly let Haynesworth go provided he got another offer. Of course the catch was that according to his contract, Haynesworth was due to receive a payment of $21 million for the year on April 1st. Of course if Haynesworth had signed with another team by then, then the deal would have been null and void. I guess that amount of money would make everyone reconsider and Haynesworth did the smart thing and took the money.

The team didn't have any outward signs of malice (and granted, we the public and even the press don't have any idea of what goes on behind the scenes) but rather than doing the right thing which would have been to show up for mandatory practice and the like, Haynesworth has been doing his best Chuck Norris impression and has been "Missing in Action". He refuses to come to mini-camp and refuses to take part in team workouts (voluntary and mandatory ones) so then what is the team to do? If his hope is to hold out and sign with another team, Haynesworth has a funny way of going about it. Rather than showing prospective teams that he still has what it takes to be a star defensive player, Haynesworth continues to hide out and hide from practice. That isn't doing the team any good and it isn't doing him any good. Perhaps he will soon come to his senses and do the right thing which is give back the money, break his contract and then all parties can go and do their own things.