As the news that Albert Haynesworth was suspended by the Redskins for the rest of the season has trickled in, several players have begun giving their take on the whole situation. All of the Redskins' beat reporters have been off trying to get player reaction, and so far, it seems most players are just relieved that the whole drama is over.
Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan summed up the reaction from those he talked to as follows:
Seems like most of the #Redskins are sad that a teammate got suspended, but very few are surprised and fewer have said it was a mistake.
Andre Carter said he was "not surprised" that Haynesworth was benched (per Chris Russell). Phillip Daniels, who ripped Haynesworth on Monday, said he just "hates" to hear about anyone being suspended. Meanwhile, unnamed players had several different reactions that Paulsen rounded up.
But Lorenzo Alexander probably had the best take of them all. In an interview with "The Mike Wise Show" on 106.7 The Fan, Alexander criticized Haynesworth for being too strong-willed for the team.
"When you're in a poor year, you have to be the one to change. You have to be the subordinate, and you have to change that way. You can't have two chiefs going at it. The chief is Shanahan, and his players have to fall in line. Keep you personality, but you have to fall in line with what we're doing as a team, because that's what it's all about."
Alexander said that the situation was "destined" to end like this, though he expected it to happen after the season. He added that Haynesworth was never happy in Washington and that it affected his play.
"Albert's a great player, but it was never meant for him to be here with everything that was going on with the scheme and stuff. I don't think he was ever really happy here. He was tying, I'll give you that, especially the last couple of weeks. But ultimately, he wasn't happy, and that shows up in how you approach everything. If you're not happy, you're not going to put it all out there."
Finally, Alexander denied reports that Haynesworth was hung over, saying he didn't smell any alcohol on him on that Friday practice.