-Chris Arcand (email Chris Arcand at CArcand@BostonSportsRadio.net)
In a pre-season stunner, the New England Patriots have acquired DT Albert Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins for a 2013 5th-round pick.
Haynesworth, a two-time Pro Bowler and one time Sporting News Defensive Player Of The Year, signed a 7-year 100 million dollar contract with the Washington Redskins in February of 2009. In 2010, Haynesworth was benched and then suspended by coach Mike Shanahan midway through the season for "conduct detrimental to the team", Haynesworth finished the 2010 season with 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 8 games. Despite the large contract, Washington has already paid most of it, leaving the Pats with a tab of roughly 7 million dollars to cover for Haynesworth services.
Haynesworth is most notably remembered for an incident in a 2006 game against the Dallas Cowboys in which he removed the helmet of Dallas Center Andre Gurode and then, while wearing spiked cleats, stomped on Gurode's exposed head, narrowly missing his eye. Gurode required 30 stitches above and below his eye. Haynesworth apologized after the game. Haynesworth was also involved in a traffic accident that left a 25 year-old-man paralyzed when he collided with Haynesworth's Ferrari which was traveling over 100 mph.
Oh yeah, and last season he failed the Redskins preseason conditioning test. Twice. Two times.
In other words, Albert Haynesworth is coming to New England with more baggage than an Orvis outlet store.
This is not the first time the Patriots have set off on a reclamation project. Nor is it the first time they have set off on a venture like this with an extremely talented, extremely troubled player on a dead-end team. In 2003 they sent a 2nd rounder to Cincinatti for Corey Dillon who had a monster season and won himself a shiny new Super Bowl ring in 2004. In 2007 they sent a 4th round pick to Oakland for Randy Moss who went on to have one of the best offensive seasons in NFL history. This trade has all the markings of a classic New England reclamation triumph. Since the money owed is minimal, the Patriots hold all the leverage, and if Haynesworth decides he doesn't feel like letting the ice cream cone go he can be released with nary a whimper on the cap hit side of things.
This news today was followed by a breaking story that the Patriots have released fellow defensive lineman Marcus Stroud, citing the fact that Stroud was unable to report to camp on time due to a shoulder injury. The position battles at camp for the starting D-Line spots are going to be epic this preseason. Vince Wilfork and Haynesworth battling it out with the guys who still have something to prove like Brandon Deadrick and Mike Wright. Oh, and Ty Warren will be back this season, after missing all of 2010.
True to form, Bill Belichick did not address the Haynesworth signing during his morning press conference today, deflecting questions about Haynesworth like Captain America except instead of a patriotic shield Bill wielded his mighty "the deal is not yet done" rampart to keep the Boston media corps on the edge of their seats.
Part of me hates this deal because I hate Albert Haynesworth, both as a player and as a person. That being said, with Belichick's track record trading for angry, borderline psychotic former superstars, I have a feeling I will get over it soon enough.
