Is Albert Haynes-worth the Money?

Free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth hit the NFL jackpot courtesy of the Washington Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder. But is he worth $100 million??

Before I break this down, I must admit I was shocked by the news—not that Haynesworth bagged the money, but that he landed in Washington. The Redskins seemingly weren’t in the running because of their awful salary-cap situation.

But give credit (for once) to Snyder, Vinny Cerrato, and salary cap guru Eric Schaffer.  They targeted Haynesworth as one of their top two free agent priorities—resigning DeAngelo Hall being the other—and they executed all the necessary roster and contractual juggling to make it a reality.

I can already sense all the Snyder-haters/bashers foaming at the mouth, ready to blast him on the comment board.  But before you do, hear me out.

So back to the question, is Big Al worth a staggering $100 mill?

Well, in a free-market economy determined by supply and demand, you are worth whatever somebody is willing to pay you.

So, from this perspective, Haynesworth is clearly worth nine figures because reports indicate that six actual suitors were bidding on his services upon the opening of free agency.

Unlike the numerous free agency debacles in the past that have become a painful signature of the Snyder-led Redskins era, this signing is different. Washington didn’t vastly overpay for Haynesworth and he’s not past his prime. 

Albert was gonna hit the lottery somewhere and he picked Washington among similar offers. 

So score one for Snyder and crew. No Lombardi trophies yet, but they wine and dine free agents with the best of ‘em. Once again, Washington cements its status as world champions of the NFL offseason.

Looking closer at the contract, the correct questions isn’t whether big 92 is worth $100 million, because he likely won’t see the final three years of the seven-year contract he inked last Friday.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, league sources told him “that a $29 million ‘poison pill’ in the fifth year of Haynesworth's contract effectively makes it a four-year deal worth $48 million.”

If this is true, I can live with that. The nature of free agency requires teams to overpay players. Keeping this reality in mind, acquiring arguably the NFL’s most dominant interior lineman at $12 million per season at the prime age of 27 isn’t so stomach turning.

Yes, it’s still a huge sum of money for one player when you’re more than one player away from being a Super Bowl contender, but Haynesworth’s addition dramatically changes the dynamic of the entire defensive roster and his ripple effect potentially makes every player on that side of the ball better.

So here’s the best-case scenario of the “Haynesworth Effect"...

Fellow defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin will no longer be the focus of double teams.  Although he’s clearly not the force he was in 2004, his impact may rebound to those heights because most offensive lines will game-plan against Haynesworth and leave Griffinwith a one-on-one matchup.

Cornelius is probably salivating at this notion.

With Haynesworth and Griffin collapsing the pocket and mauling the interior of the offensive line, undersized pass rushers Jason Taylor and Andre Carter will also get to work one-on-one on the edges.

Prior to Haynesworth’s acquisition, many 'Skins fans were calling for all three of these veteran lineman to become salary cap casualties.  Last season, this disappointing trio accounted for a paltry 8.5 total sacks.

By comparison, Haynesworth alone notched 8.5 sacks in 14 games.

Now all of a sudden, the three veteran deadweights are perceived to be valuable assets primed for big rebound seasons. With Haynesworth in the fold, a healthy Taylor and overlooked Carter could total the 15-25 sacks the Redskins envisioned last year when Taylor was acquired at the beginning of training camp.

You think the D-line is happy, what about middle linebacker London Fletcher?

Now that both guards and the center must concentrate on the tandem of Haynesworth and Griffin, Fletcher will have fewer steamrolling offensive linemen to contend with.  As an undersized linebacker, this was Fletcher’s biggest weakness.

He could be erased by big physical blockers. With the improved d-line shielding him from the opposition o-line, Fletcher should be able to pursue ballcarriers more freely, resulting in more tackles and more stops near the line of scrimmage.

Next, the outside linebackers and secondary should be able to wreak havoc as blitzers since the d-line in general should be much improved in generating a pass rush.

And if the D-line is disrupting the quarterback enough on their own, then defensive coordinator Greg Blache won’t have to dial up as many blitzes as last year, which should improve the overall pass coverage.

Finally, the Haynesworth Effect will impact the bottom line of turnovers, which has long been a glaring deficiency for the Redskins defense. Under both Blache and previous defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the 'Skins' D could keep Washington in the game, but they rarely could win the game. 

And last season despite their impressive No. 4 rating in total yards allowed per game, the defense cracked at the end of games which resulted in four losses down the stretch and no playoffs.

If Washington can consistently pressure the quarterback, a dangerous ballhawk like Hall can intercept wayward passes and utilize his elite speed for big returns. The rest of the secondary will benefit in this regard as well and they won’t have to sustain coverage as long as in the past when quarterbacks had ample time to pick them apart.

So in theory and on paper—which, of course, is the annual caveat for all Redskins fans—next season looks very promising on the defensive front. But here’s the flipside and reality check...

Haynesworth is getting $41 million in guaranteed salary with the first $32 million coming in the first 13 months of the contract.  Yikes!

He’s set for life. Phat Albert could become Fat Albert and within his first season, opposing offenses might realize that Haynesworth is on cruise control and doesn’t need to be double-teamed.

Then the ripple effect is moot and all those diminishing veterans who stunk last year will be stinky reminders of Snyder’s frequent free agent foolishness.

Remember Dana Stubblefield?

He’s the classic and cautionary case of a guy who peaks in the final year of a contract, then gets super rich as a coveted free agent, and ultimately spirals downward for the rest of his career.

In 1997 as a San Francisco49er, Stubblefield won the Defensive Player of the Year award after a very impressive 15-sack campaign.

Washington offered a truckload of money and the rest is infamous history.  “Stubby” recorded a whopping seven total sacks in three disappointing seasons as a Redskin.  Ugh!

Even if Haynesworth plays at a dominant level, it’s possible that all or some of the following will happen:

·    Taylor proves he’s washed up and everyone—including Redskins management—realizes he should have been cut.

·    Carter continues to be what he always has been...undersized and ineffective against above-average tackles.

·    Griffin gets injured again and plays at less than full strength for the majority of the season.

·    Fletcher’s age (34) and mileage (176 consecutive games played) finally catch up with him and his effectiveness deteriorates during the course of the season until the Skins must consider cutting him next offseason.

·    Rocky McIntosh’s bum knees give out and everyone—including Redskins management—rue the day they passed on the Lance Briggs trade.

·    Hall reverts to being a selfish and disruptive teammate, and stunts the progress of fellow cornerback Carlos Rogers.  Then Shawn Springshelps the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl by playing both cornerback and safety at an All-Pro level.

Then there’s the possibility of the middle ground...Haynesworth plays well, but not dominant enough for fans to be satisfied with the massive $41 million guaranteed salary and the seven-year salary cap hit (despite the fact he gets cut halfway through this contract). 

In this scenario, he joins the pantheon of Dan Wilkinson and Sean Gilbert as talented and expensive d-tackles who fell short of potential and expectations.

So the upside is that Haynesworth is entering the prime of his career and he apparently is focused on living up to the giant contract with talk of wanting to be mentioned in the same sentence as Hall of Famer Reggie White.

He has the potential of transforming a good Redskins defense into a great one.

But the downside is undeniable too. Let’s remember, Haynesworth wasn’t even the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season. He finished fourth in voting behind Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware, and Ravens safety Ed Reed.

Also, he hasn’t played in all 16 regular season games since his rookie season in 2002.  Since then he’s only averaged 12.3 games per year—hardly the kind of durability you want from a guy you’re guaranteeing $41 million.

So will Haynesworth walk the talk?

“When I line up in front of somebody, put that helmet on, it’s to kick butt," Haynesworth confidently said. "It’s to make sure that guy knows that I’m the best player he played against.”

“After the game, you can think about the money. But during that game, I’m going to make sure he knows that I’m the best player. Any team that faces me, they’re going to have to worry about me.”

Frankly, I don’t know, but I think he’s worth the risk.  While I don’t think he’s the caliber of the legendary Reggie White, his addition gives the Washington Redskins the hope of leapfrogging some of their rivals in the competitive NFC East and snatching a playoff berth.

Without Haynesworth in the picture, would the modest upgrade of a player like Chris Canty make a significant difference?

I doubt it. Sometimes adding one expensive great player is better than adding a few economical good ones. Now if only the 'Skins can do wonders with the scant four draft picks they have to plug holes in the offensive line and linebacking corps, and the offense makes dramatic strides in year two under head coach Jim Zorn...but that’s a separate article.