Different story, same result; Haynesworth sits out practice
Washington Redskins nose tackle Albert Haynesworth may have been deemed fit enough to practice with the Redskins, but he has yet to practice a full week with the team. After leaving practice earlier this week due to dehydration, Haynesworth sat out practice again this time with a headache.
To give an idea on exactly how much the $100 million man has contributed in Redskins’ training camp, he has managed to complete only five out of the team’s 18 full practices. When he dropped out of practice this week, Coach Mike Shanahan thought Haynesworth had been feeling sick, which turned out to be dehydration. Haynesworth most recently told Shanahan that he wasn’t feeling well all week with a headache.
"He felt that his head was bothering him more than it was dehydration, so he wasn't feeling good, basically," Shanahan said. "Just didn't feel very good it was more of a headache than anything else."
Shanahan said he wasn’t really sure what was wrong with Haynesworth as the ongoing saga with Haynesworth continues to dominate the news at the Redskins training camp. Haynesworth already missed the first nine days of practice as he was unable to pass a conditioning test and had a sore knee.
Haynesworth did not talk to reporters about his latest setback. The good news for the Redskins is that the team has been having some fun with this ongoing storyline. Haynesworth was the target of a skit players put on parodying the situation with Haynesworth and Shanahan.
"Albert, he laughed more than anybody when they were doing it," Shanahan said. "But you've got to be able to laugh at yourself."
Haynesworth may be looking at a playbook on the sidelines while he’s been sitting out, but you’d expect more from a former Pro Bowler who is the highest paid defensive tackle in the league. He already sat out off-season workouts and he’s missing a significant amount of practice time with the team. When you’re trying to make an impression on a new coach, especially under the iron fist of Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl winner, missing this much practice time is not the way to go.
It may be that he’s not feeling well, but Haynesworth has not earned the respect or trust of his teammates this off-season. They were furious with Haynesworth for skipping the off-season workouts and while they may be laughing it off now, there won’t be any laughing if Haynesworth doesn’t contribute when it matters most.
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