Haynesworth's workout regime
On Saturday, Kelli Johnson, one of my favorite people at Comcast Sports Net, Tweeted that Albert Haynesworth reported for last week's orientation at Commanders Park but missed the workouts of the offseason conditioning program.
Kelli is among the best reporters in the market, and her information, once again, is dead-on accurate. Haynesworth did not participate in the opening week of conditioning and film study at the complex.
But here's the thing: He never intended to and the Commanders were made aware of his plans, people familiar with the situation said. There was a lot of Internet speculation that Haynesworth would skip all of last week's events at the complex because he's supposedly upset about having to play nose tackle more frequently than he would prefer in the Commanders' new base 3-4 defense.
Haynesworth, however, has not commented publicly on his situation since the end of last season. Before the workouts began, I wrote Haynesworth planned to be present on the first day, and he showed up to listen to Coach Mike Shanahan address the entire team for the first time.
Haynesworth also participated in other first-day activities. But Haynesworth, who is determined to have a big year in 2010, comitted to an individual workout regime with a trainer before the Commanders' plans were set, according to the people with knowledge of the situation.
Haynesworth is following an intense offseason workout program under the guidance of the same trainer who helped him reach all-pro status during the 2007-08 seasons. Shanahan made it clear he wanted his "team leaders" to report to Ashburn for the conditioning program, and Haynesworth, who has talked with the team about his offseason schedule, believed it was important to be there on the first day. And Haynesworth is "gonna be around" the complex as the workouts progress, one of the sources said.
As I reported last week, Haynesworth and the Commanders in January discussed Haynesworth's new role during a meeting at the complex, and there have been follow-up conversations, team sources said. Would Shanahan prefer to have Haynesworth in Ashburn year-round for the positive statement that would make? Probably.
But Shanahan, I think, realizes that Haynesworth could be the key to his plan to shift from the 4-3 to the 3-4. Haynesworth showed respect to Shanahan by attending on the first day for something that is voluntary under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
Despite Shanahan's tough talk about players needing to show their commitment to the program if they want to be on the team, the reality is that didn't apply to Haynesworth. The Commanders will cut him a check for a guaranteed $21 million option bonus in April, and Haynesworth's 2010 and 2011 base salaries are guaranteed, too.
With the money Haynesworth is guaranteed, there's no way the Commanders would cut him for not reporting. Moreover, regardless if some in the main building believe
Haynesworth has a bad attitude (and trust us, some do), the coaching staff knows they need the guy because he's one of few elite players on the roster.
Haynesworth met Shanahan halfway in appearing on the first day of the program. Perhaps Shanahan made a positive gesture in accepting Haynesworth won't be around all the time. That certainly not a perfect union -- but it's a start.
