In an interview with Sara Walsh of ESPN, Albert Haynesworth was more candid about his, ummmm, let's go with eventful, offseason than we've ever seen him; including what he did with the $21 million roster bonus the Redskins paid him in April.
"Yeah, check sat at my house for a couple weeks before I cashed it," Haynesworth said. "I was weighing my options about what I should do. ... Do you want to take this? Do you want to commit yourself to playing a 3-4 [defense]? Do you want to go somewhere else and try again?"
Do they really give you the entire thing on one check? Is it Publisher's Clearing House-sized? I don't think I'd be comfortable just being in the same room as a check for $21 million, I'd be too afraid of some sort of heist going down.
It's good to see Haynesworth paused a little before cashing this check. But if it really was a few weeks as he said, then he still would have cashed it before he reportedly demanded a trade in mid-June. So he waited a little, but it still doesn't really count for anything.
More nuggets from that interview after the jump.
"It's been hard, changing schemes," Haynesworth said. "It's been challenging."
That's not a really a revelation. Believe me Albert, this has been challenging for ALL of us.
"Some people think I'm off my rocker," he said. "Some think I'm just a guy who doesn't want to do anything. Some think I'm a nice guy. Lot of different perceptions but if you meet me you will understand I am a good person."
Let's juxtapose that with a quick story:
I tried to meet Albert Haynesworth once. I was at Redskins camp about a month ago, and tried to shake his hand as he walked off the field and back into the locker room. He refused to even acknowledge me, instead having one of his handlers explain that he was busy and needed to be moving along. And this was before he passed his conditioning test so he wasn't even practicing yet. Most of the other players stopped and said something to fans, and Chris Cooley even let us shave him, seriously.
Maybe the people of Washington would like Albert if he was a little bit more open and honest with the fans. This interview seems to be a step in that direction. Hopefully, this trend continues.