Albert Haynesworth wants out of Washington

By Gayle Saunders
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Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has made it clear that he does not want to play for the Washington Redskins. He will most likely skip the team’s mandatory minicamp which starts today and has formally requested a trade, his agent, Chad Speck, told the media on Tuesday.

“He is frustrated that he was not used last year the way he was promised he would be and now the current organization is not one he would have ever considered a year ago,” Speck said.

The most troubling thing for Haynesworth is he’s unhappy that the Redskins are switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme under new coach Mike Shanahan and new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. However Haynesworth is best suited as a nose tackle in a 3-4, but he feels this would restrict his freedom to make the kinds of plays that made him a beast for seven seasons with the Titans.

As a free agent last year he signed a seven-year, $100 million contract that included $41 million in guaranteed money to join the Redskins. Things haven’t really went Hayneworth since his arrival. Last year he was frequently injured, out of shape and his attitude was a topic of discussion. Albert finished with only four sacks and questioned the team’s leadership as the Redskins ended the season with a 4-12 record under Coach Jim Zorn.

New leadership arrived in the form of Mike Shanahan, but Haynesworth hasn’t been to happy. He showed that, by not showing up for the team’s voluntary offseason conditioning program, stating he thought he needed to work with his own trainer to get his power and strength that he had in previous seasons.

Haynesworth stands out as the only player to not attend the first two minicamps, which were both voluntary, in hopes that the Redskins would trade him. Shanahan stated that a trade wasn’t going to happen.
Haynesworth is still looking for that trade to happen and he hopes it will be before training camp begins next month. He made it very clear that the current Redskins defensive scheme is not what he signed up for.

“When I signed here after meeting all day with the staff and top executives, and talked about the defense that we would run and what my role would be, I was assured I would have the freedom to play to my strengths and I was excited about the future,” Haynesworth’s statement said. “After many years in the NFL, I know what it takes for me to perform at my highest level. My number one goal has always been to help my team win — period.

“It’s also important at my position to help free my teammates to make plays, which I’ve done throughout my career when I’ve been allowed to play to my strengths. I will continue to work individually to prepare for training camp and the start of the 2010 season.”

Haynesworth’s announcement caught the Redskins off guard. They were expecting him to be ready to go an on the practice field today.

When Haynesworth gets to your QB its not a good thing.