Redskins very unlikely to move Haynesworth

While two sources familiar with the situation say it's true that the Washington Redskins attempted to trade Albert Haynesworth(notes) in the deal that eventually landed Donovan McNabb(notes), there's a good reason why they were rebuffed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

And now there's a very good reason why the Redskins probably won't trade Haynesworth at all.

Both reasons have to do with the $21 million check the Redskins wrote to Haynesworth on Thursday. Yes, on April Fool's Day, Washington paid Haynesworth a $21 million option bonus that was part of the seven-year, $100 million contract the team signed him to 13 months ago as the top free agent in 2009.

Really, the deal is a four-year, $48.2 million contract which includes $41 million guaranteed in the first three years.

Prior to last Thursday, the Redskins tried to get Philadelphia – really, just about any team – to take Haynesworth so that they didn't have to pay the $21 million. Of course, no one was willing to take on that contract.

Haynesworth, who had four sacks last season after combining for 14½ in his last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, declined to comment on the situation when reached Monday.

"I got nothing for you, man," said Haynesworth, who was having lunch with agent Chad Speck at the time. Speck also declined to talk about the situation after taking the phone from Haynesworth.

Now, however, there may be plenty of suitors for Haynesworth. But only if Washington coach Mike Shanahan is willing and authorized to swallow a lot of owner Dan Snyder's pride.

Make that money.

Specifically, the $32 million Snyder has paid to Haynesworth so far. That's the $21 million spent last week plus the $11 million the Redskins paid Haynesworth last season.

If Shanahan, who has voiced displeasure with Haynesworth deciding not to join the Redskins for offseason conditioning, is willing to eat a lot of his owner's money at this point, then trading Haynesworth will be easy.

Over the next three years, all that remains of Haynesworth's deal is $16.2 million. Of that, $9 million is guaranteed. That makes Haynesworth a bargain – and perhaps an unrealistic trade option at this point.

"You'd be crazy not to think about making a deal for that guy at that price," one NFC team executive said. "Everybody is making a big deal about the Eagles turning him down, but it was because of the money and the timing. Once the Redskins paid the money, they weren't going to move him."

If it turns out Washington is still contemplating moving the massive defender, the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hold the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively, in the NFL draft later this month, may be interested in trading for Haynesworth. Not that either team would give up such a high pick, but such a deal would allow one of those teams to draft someone other than defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska or Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma. Those players have been considered locks for the second and third picks on the assumption that the St. Louis Rams will select Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford at No. 1 overall.

Furthermore, Detroit and Tampa Bay both have connections to Haynesworth. The Lions are coached by Jim Schwartz, Haynesworth's former defensive coordinator with Tennessee, who has talked many times in the past about how he learned to manage Haynesworth over the years.

In addition to Schwartz, the Lions recently signed defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch(notes), who became a Pro Bowl end playing next to Haynesworth in Tennessee.

Tampa Bay may be even stronger after being the bridesmaid in the Haynesworth sweepstakes a year ago. The Bucs made a strong run to sign him, but Haynesworth didn't want to go through the rebuilding process with them, assuming that the Redskins would be better, faster.

"Think about it, if you're Detroit and you don't have to take the defensive tackle at No. 2 overall," an AFC general manager said. "You have the freedom to go get anyone you want. Or, you could take one of the defensive tackles anyway and all of a sudden your front seven is monstrous. Or you could deal the pick if somebody wanted it.

"Actually, from a trade perspective, it works better for Tampa Bay because they're going to have the defensive tackle who falls to them after the Lions pick."

But the real question in all of this is whether Shanahan has the power (or guts) to get rid of Haynesworth after Snyder spent so much on him.

Hoop dreams … no more

Much is made every year of basketball players who attempt to give football a try after their careers run out on the hardwood. This year, University of Miami tight end Jimmy Graham figures to be a second- or third-round pick and Syracuse quarterback (and former Duke guard) Greg Paulus is hoping to garner some attention.

In addition, there are a series of NFL players who have strong backgrounds in hoops, such as tight ends Tony Gonzalez(notes) and Antonio Gates(notes). However, most guys who play basketball just don't have what it takes to play football.

Paulus played one year at Syracuse after playing basketball at Duke for four years.
(Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

And we're not talking about toughness.

"Really, you're talking about speed," said Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who made some minor news when he worked out Paulus last offseason before Paulus turned to college football. The Packers have regularly worked out basketball players in the offseason. "Most of the guys who play basketball are quick, but they're not fast."

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who drafted former college wrestler Stephen Neal(notes) and turned him into a guard, concurred.

"Most of the difference is that they don't run fast," Belichick said. "They're quick and they have great hands. But when you time them, they don't have the type of football speed for the position."

That's the type of speed that it takes to cover a long distance. For instance, as much as it might make sense that a college point guard could be a great cornerback, it really doesn't work out that way. Most college point guards don't have the speed over longer distances, such as 40 yards, to keep up with NFL wide receivers.

And Belichick said speed just doesn't develop after changing sports.

"No, I don't think so. That's in general, but for the guys I have worked out in the past, you watch them play basketball and you say, 'This guy would be a good corner or a good safety based on body frame and build,' " Belichick said. "Watch his quickness and how he guards people on the court, but then you go out and time him and he runs a 4.9 and what are you going to do?

"If he goes out and runs a 4.6 or 4.5, then it's a different story. But there's not a lot of guys like that on the basketball court. … You can do speed training and all that, but if you can run, you can run. If you can't run, I can tell you from experience, you probably can't run. You might get a little bit better, but in the end you can't run."

Or as Belichick put it, using slightly different terms: "The old Bob Dylan song, what once was slow now becomes faster, something like that, 'The Times They Are A-Changin,' that's a bunch of b.s. What once was slow doesn't become fast."

This and that

• For those players who believe that the franchise tag and restricted free-agent tenders are a bad thing, consider the case of San Diego Chargers backup running back and return man Darren Sproles(notes). During 2009 and '10, Sproles will have made $13.9 million guaranteed after signing his restricted tender this year. That's pretty nice coin for a guy who will never be a full-time player.

• Having mentioned Washington, a lot of people are impressed with the trio of running backs they have assembled: Clinton Portis(notes), Larry Johnson(notes) and Willie Parker(notes). Yeah, that would be impressive … if this was 2007.

• Speaking of Portis, don't consider it a lock that he makes the team this season. No matter what anyone on the Redskins says about competition, Portis needs to prove to Shanahan that he won't be a complete pain.

• The latest rumor out there that Bill Parcells loves Florida quarterback Tim Tebow makes for great fodder, but exactly how many quarterbacks are the Miami Dolphins going to collect? Aside from starter Chad Henne(notes), the Dolphins have backups Chad Pennington(notes), Tyler Thigpen(notes) and are still trying to get people to believe that Pat White(notes) is a quarterback. Getting Tebow would just be a waste.