More on Haynesworth

[Chuck 54]

The article below indicates that Haynesworth will be a major pain for the Skins all season. They just wrote him a 21 million dollar check for a roster bonus. 1. There's no way they're going to let him get away for little or nothing after that check was cashed; 2. There's no way Haynesworth wants out badly enough to give that 21 million dollars back just so he can move on...with the Skins looking into ways to make him return that money, he's going to eventually show up...but it won't be pretty.


ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Commanders players are calling Albert Haynesworth selfish for skipping the team's mandatory minicamp and demanding a trade.

Haynesworth wasn't present Wednesday morning when the team took the field for practice. The two-time All Pro defensive tackle is staying away because he doesn't want to play in the Commanders' new defensive scheme.

Coach Mike Shanahan revealed that the Commanders gave Haynesworth the chance to find another team until April 1, when the player was due a $21 million bonus. Shanahan said that once Haynesworth took the check, the team expected him to play.

The Commanders are now pursuing the return of that $21 million payment, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Haynesworth's absence isn't popular among teammates. Both London Fletcher and Casey Rabach called Haynesworth "selfish." Said Rabach: "It doesn't sit well with the players."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[alancdc]

DId anyone hear London Fletcher's comments on him? They just played it on ESPN radio. WOW!

 

[Hoofbite]

Give the money back? Yeah, right........

Are they serious?

 

[tomson75]

I love this. I wish like hell I still lived in the DC area so I could make fun of Skins fans to their faces. Commenting on their facebook pages just isn't the same.....

 

[tomson75]

DId anyone hear London Fletcher's comments on him? They just played it on ESPN radio. WOW!

Uhhh....NO!

Recap please?

 

[Cowboys22]

Didn't the league already set the precedent that signing bonuses are the only type of bonus that are recoverable. That is why agents are now negotiating smaller signing bonuses but more guaranteed money in the form of roster bonuses. I believe the $21 million AH just got was a roster bonus which is not recoverable. If it was a delayed signing bonus, then AH is being foolish and his agent is even dumber for not making it a roster bonus.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Who could have ever predicted Haynesworth would have been a headache and a troublemaker?

Oh that's right, everybody.

 

[arglebargle]

In poker there's this tenant about throwing good money after bad. About how the money in the pot is no longer 'yours'. The Commanders should just trade him, they could probably get a 1st for him from someone. Cut your losses and go on. Otherwise it can fester and cause lots of team troubles. Haynesworth has them over a barrel, they've got very little leverage.

As a Cowboys fan, I hope they don't realize this anytime soon.

 

[Coakleys Dad]

$21 million dollar bonus is just insane.....dosent matter the player or team.

 

[Hoofbite]

In poker there's this tenant about throwing good money after bad. About how the money in the pot is no longer 'yours'. The Commanders should just trade him, they could probably get a 1st for him from someone. Cut your losses and go on. Otherwise it can fester and cause lots of team troubles. Haynesworth has them over a barrel, they've got very little leverage.

As a Cowboys fan, I hope they don't realize this anytime soon.

I don't think any team will give a 1st for that contract.

 

[Danny White]

Uhhh....NO!

Recap please?

From Extremeskins:

"Obviously, he's under contract with the Washington Commanders. From a business standpoint, I don't see them giving him $32 million and trading him or giving him away. He has the option to give the money back if he really doesn't want to be here. He could always give the money back. But once he decided to take money from this organization, he's a Washington Commander. I say, yeah, he can come back if he shows he's willing to buy into what we're doing, if he's going to be on- board with what we're trying to do. One man is not going to stop what we're trying to accomplish this year. One man is not going to stop what we're going to accomplish this year. We've got big goals set for us this year, high aspirations. Football is going to be played with him or without him. We're going to play some good football.

Obviously, we want him to be a part of it, but he has to stop being selfish."

Fletcher said he wasn't surprised by Haynesworth's decision, given his past actions and attitudes.

"He can say what he wants to say about him not wanting to be here, wanting to be traded, things like that. There's ways he can not be a Commander. Give the money back; I'm sure they'd take it. We'll move on without him. I want teammates who I can depend on, who I can count on, who in the fourth quarter of a situation, I know is going to be there to make a play or to do his job that the defense calls -- whether it's responsibilities holding up a lineman or penetrating a gap... I need guys I can depend on. We need people we can depend on. At the end of the day, right now, he's shown that he can't be depended upon."

Question: Is it going to be a distraction and stunt the team's progress?

Fletcher: "It's not going to stunt our progress. As I mentioned, we're gonna play good football this year. The guys that are on the football field with us, the 11 men that line up, we're gonna play good football. It's up to the coaching staff to determine who the best 11 guys are to put on that field to put us in position to win football games."

Question: If Haynewsorth showed up, what would you tell him?

Fletcher: "Nothing. I haven't spoken to him up to this point. I saw him down at the Super Bowl in Miami; we had a little brief conversation but nothing major. So I would just expect him to come in, work hard, work like everybody else. It's really not much that needs to be said. This conversation has taken place with the coaching staff with management back in February when Coach Shanahan was first brought aboard. He knew what we were gonna be doing from a defensive standpoint, There's a lot of guys that have played in certain systems throughout their careers, whether it be a 4-3 defense, things like that. So it's a lot of guys making adjustments to a new change, 4-3 defense. A lot of guys put in that situation. Yeah, maybe they may not be ideally suited for it but they're making an effort to do that because they understand the big picture. They understand it's not about an individual, it's about a team. And we're trying to have a true team model here. Last year we had a lot of selfishness that took place and you got 4-12 out of that. This year, we can't have that."

Question: How early last year did you see signs that Albert wasn't happy, etc.?

Fletcher: "I think when he came in, he fit in. Off the field, obviously, he's a good guy. You like him, you can talk to him. He's not standoffish in that way, but it's just some of the things that if it doesn't benefit him - from a football standpoint - he just doesn't get the big picture of things. That's the really disappointing part of all this. When you decide to play a team sport, there's everybody else you have to take in consideration with decisions that you make, and right now he's not taking everybody else into consideration. It's all about him, how he's going to benefit, 'I don't wanna be here,' this, that, and that. You're in the wrong sport."

Question: Is it different if a player misses minicamp over a contractual situation than something like this?

Fletcher: "Yeah, it is. This is a situation that's really hasn't been...basically uncharted waters. Where a guy has gotten their money -- it's not about contract, this is about 'I don't fit the scheme.' Well, you don't know if you fit the scheme because you haven't been here, so until you come here and see if you fit the scheme...if they're gonna pay you what they're gonna pay you to be a 3-4 end or 3-4 nose tackle, come, be the best 3-4 end, 3-4 nose tackle that you can be, and at the end of the day we'll be happy with you."

 

[joseephuss]

One man is not going to stop what we're trying to accomplish this year.

by London Fletcher

Nope it is going to be all 53 men on that roster.

 

[arglebargle]

I don't think any team will give a 1st for that contract.

I think his contract from here on out is big, but not unpayable. The Commanders have already paid out the big bucks, so it won't be on the shoulders of the team that takes him. Not that I'd do it, myself. He's a cancer.

 

[alancdc]

I think I just gained a lot of respect for Fletcher.

 

[Rynie]

by London Fletcher

Nope it is going to be all 53 men on that roster.

LOL :laugh2:

 

[SaltwaterServr]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5292862

 

[Jon88]

This makes the Roy Williams fiasco not look so bad.

 

[Seven]

"it's not about contract, this is about 'I don't fit the scheme.' Well, you don't know if you fit the scheme because you haven't been here, so until you come here and see if you fit the scheme...if they're gonna pay you what they're gonna pay you to be a 3-4 end or 3-4 nose tackle, come, be the best 3-4 end, 3-4 nose tackle that you can be, and at the end of the day we'll be happy with you."

:signmast:

 

[Gzus]

The guy is an idiot, he's got his money and wants to pout about the scheme? What does he want them to change it back just for him? Jay Ratliff is an undersized NT in a 3-4 and yet is one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the league..... Yet Haynesworth wants to be a ***** and claim he doesn't think a 3-4 will fit him cause he'll essentially have to take on the center head on..... If anything Jay deserves what Haynesworth is getting paid right now because he's more disruptive and a bigger influence on his own team than Haynesworth will ever be. We as Cowboy fans are lucky to have such a stand up guy who is willing to play wherever the coaches ask him to line up, just so happens that playing NT undersized makes him one of the best in the league.

Albert why don't you just stick your $21 million in your pie hole and go out and play.....

 

[67CowboysFan]

The guy is an idiot, he's got his money and wants to pout about the scheme? What does he want them to change it back just for him? Jay Ratliff is an undersized NT in a 3-4 and yet is one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the league..... Yet Haynesworth wants to be a ***** and claim he doesn't think a 3-4 will fit him cause he'll essentially have to take on the center head on..... If anything Jay deserves what Haynesworth is getting paid right now because he's more disruptive and a bigger influence on his own team than Haynesworth will ever be. We as Cowboy fans are lucky to have such a stand up guy who is willing to play wherever the coaches ask him to line up, just so happens that playing NT undersized makes him one of the best in the league.

Albert why don't you just stick your $21 million in your pie hole and go out and play.....

Maybe Fat Albert knows he can't handle that assignment? :