Albert Haynesworth: Trouble Is Thy Middle Name

When NFL teams go after the big names in free agency, they also are signing up with the player's baggage. And that sometimes can be a heavy load.

One need look no further than the Washington Redskins' pursuit of star defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, lately of the Tennessee Titans and now wearing burgundy and gold as off-season training inches toward the start of training camp and the 2009 season.

Washington owner Dan Snyder, the king of the splashy offseason free agency player signings and no success with post-season runs to the Super Bowl, signed Haynesworth to a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins shortly after free agency opened in the early hours of Feb. 27.

And now the NFL is investigating whether the Redskins tampered with Haynesworth while he was still a Titan. It could cost the Redskins a draft pick or a fine, if the NFL finds that they were dealing with him before the midnight opening of free agency that last Friday in February.

But then what's a another lost draft pick to the Redskins? They discard draft picks like trash from a game-day party: Get it out of here already.

But bringing in Haynesworth also means the Redskins are carting in his past, the anger management issues that he's had dating to his college days in Knoxville playing for Tennessee and the same with the Titans.

And he still faces two misdemeanor driving charges stemming from a traffic accident in which another driver was seriously injured. Haynesworth is charged with reckless driving and having an expired registration.

The maximum punishment for reckless driving is six months in jail and a $500 fine and 30 days and a $50 fine for the expired registration charge.

The other driver, Corey Edmonson, needed a hip replacement after the accident and now is suing Haynesworth for for $7.5 million in compensatory damages and asking for punitive damages as well.

The NFL plans to talk to Haynesworth as early as this week about the alleged contract tampering charges brought by the Titans and the traffic charges and civil suit will in time play out.

And Haynesworth? Well, he's trying to move on.

"You're not going to remember Albert Haynesworth as a bust," Haynesworth said at the time of his signing. "With the contract, it's going to be all on me. My goal is to be the best player on the field and to eventually get to that Hall of Fame status and be mentioned with Reggie White and Bruce Smith and all the greats."

In the meantime, there does seem to be some heavy lifting ahead between now and September's opening day.