What do you do if you are Dan Snyder, Bruce Allen, Mike Shanahan or any of the Redskins decision makers when it comes to Albert Haynesworth today?
Through his agent, Chad Speck, the big money DT told the Washington Post that he will not be in attendance for the 'Skins mandatory minicamp—and wants a trade.
A trade? Haven’t we been down this road before? We all know Haynesworth wants out of Washington. I have talked to people inside the building at Redskins Park this offseason who told me they are actively trying to move Haynesworth. However, do you really want to trade a player after giving him $32-million already for one year of service on a bad football team in 2009? Big price to pay, even if you can find a team who is willing to take on the rest of his existing contract.
My initial reaction to this: pick up the phone, make a deal and send him out of town.
But, that isn’t logical because the guy can play football. I don’t care what type of defensive front you put him in, he is going to cause disruption at the line of scrimmage—because he can be that good on Sundays. Plus, why should Snyder or Shanahan give into a player's demands in June?
The solution here is simple: fine him—repeatedly. Fine him for skipping this weekend (which is over $9,000 for the camp) and then fine him for every single day he skips out on training camp, which can get expensive at a rate around $16,000 per day. You want to get the attention of a player? It’s simple, go to his wallet.