Albert Haynesworth
Albert George Haynesworth III (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football at the University of Tennessee. Drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round (15th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft, he spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Titans. An All-Pro selection in 2007 and 2008, and considered "the most dominant defensive tackle in the league" at that time, Haynesworth was a highly coveted free agent following the 2008 season. He signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Washington Redskins in February 2009, but played less than two full seasons with Washington. The Redskins' acquisition of Haynesworth has since been widely derided as the worst free agent signing in NFL history.
History of the Washington Redskins
The long-awaited arrival of the practice bubble at Redskins Park was completed in early 2012. Former Redskins defensive end, Phillip Daniels, was hired as the new Director of Player Development on February 17, 2012. On March 2, 2012 the Redskins announced that they had placed a franchise tag on Fred Davis. On March 9, 2012, the Redskins agreed in principle to trade their first round (#6 overall) and second round (#39 overall) picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, as well as their first-round picks in the 2013 (#22 overall) and 2014 (#2 overall) NFL Drafts, to the St. Louis Rams for their second overall draft pick in 2012. They proceeded to select Robert Griffin III, after the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck from Stanford University with the 1st overall pick. Griffin III would go on to complete 65.6% of his passes for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions while also having a 102.4 passer rating which would be the highest rookie QB passer rating in NFL history. Griffin III also rushed for 815 yards and 7 touchdowns becoming only the sixth quarterback in NFL history to rush for at least 800 yards, he also won the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award for his outstanding play and was selected to his first Pro Bowl, but did not participate due to injury. On March 12, 2012, the NFL commission fined the Redskins $36 million in cap space over two years because of the organization’s approach to structuring contracts in the 2010 NFL season, when there was no salary cap. On March 26, 2012, the Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys, who were penalized $10 million in cap space, filed a grievance against NFL and the NFLPA to attempt to overturn their cap space penalties. The joint grievance was dismissed on May 22, 2012.