Report: Titans Interested In Trading For Haynesworth, But Not With A First-Round Pick

According to The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt, the Washington Redskins “were willing to take a third-round pick” before being contractually obligated to pay Albert Haynesworth his $21 million roster bonus on April 1st. Wyatt continues, pointing out that the Titans are definitely still interested in the defensive tackle.

There’s no question the Titans are interested. Every team in the NFL should be if Haynesworth can be had at such a reduced price. But one big thing working against the Titans: they don’t have a second-round pick to offer as part of a trade. They have a third, and while they’d certainly be willing to give that up, the question is whether the Redskins would take it. They might be able to do a whole lot better. The Titans would not be willing to trade a first-round pick.

Whether or not the Redskins pull the trigger, largely depends on their willingness to eat Haynesworth’s roster bonus. The Washington Post’s Jason Reid writes:

Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen have been eager to trade Haynesworth for some time, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation, and whether they accomplish their goal hinges on owner Daniel Snyder’s willingness to accept the largest failed investment of his 11-year tenure as owner -- and possibly the biggest in NFL history.

Reid continues that “several teams” would be “willing to assume the contract’s remaining $9 million in guaranteed money and the total of $15.7 million (Haynesworth’s base of $6.7 million in 2012 is not guaranteed) that he is scheduled to receive over the next three seasons.”

With rumors that he was being shopped, Haynesworth elected not to participate during this week’s voluntary workout. That’s a one way ticket to Mike Shanahan’s dog house, according to former Broncos quarterback, Jake Plummer.

...Plummer explained that Shanahan never got over the fact that Plummer wasn’t present for all of the team’s offseason workouts. In demoting Plummer, Shanahan explained that skipping the workouts indicated to the coach that the quarterback didn’t care.

“Yeah, I missed some workouts,” Plummer told the author. “And you know what? Mike Shanahan, you can kiss my [expletive] for being [ticked] at that. You can quote that. I made 85 percent of my workouts and he’s still mad about it. He still brought that up. Give me a break. That’s the dumbest [expletive] thing on earth.”

Lovely. Regardless how you look at it, this story won’t die, no matter how enthusiastic the team is that they’re not trading Haynesworth. All signs point to the obvious, microwaves conducting a popcorn symphony of “hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”

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