Haynesworth going or staying?

Is Albert Haynesworth being traded or not? With Donovan McNabb now firmly ensconced in Redskins Park, that’s the big question hovering over the burgundy and gold right now.

Earlier today we posted that Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the Redskins are not trying to trade Haynesworth and they expect him to be on the roster in 2010. That makes sense to me because trading him now would mean the Redskins have spent $32 million to rent Haynesworth for one season. That’s a pretty expensive temp, even for Dan Snyder.

However, according to Comcast Sports the Redskins ARE trying to deal Haynesworth and his former team is a prime destination.

NFL source tells me Wash is trying 2 trade Haynesworth 2 Tenn…

Well, we know the Titans like Haynesworth since they wanted to keep him a year ago, but were outspent by Snyder. Trading Haynesworth might not be popular with Snyder, but it would be more popular at Redskins Park than you might think and it would be a chance for Head Coach Mike Shanahan to flex his muscles and leave no doubt that the Jim Zorn era is dead and gone.

A number of players and coaches are not fans of Haynesworth and would like to see him go. He has attended only the opening day of the voluntary off-season workouts before returning to his home in Tennessee. Shanahan would get major support in the locker room, and even more respect if he gets rid of Haynesworth.

From the day he was hired, Shanahan has made it very clear that players will be held accountable and he’s publicly expressed his disappointment with Haynesworth’s absence from Redskin Park. Players who don’t get with the program won’t remain with the team. That all starts with Haynesworth and Clinton Portis and just the mention of trading Haynesworth after paying him many millions would send yet another message to the rest of the locker room that nobody’s job is safe.

Shanahan and Titans coach Jeff Fisher are also very good friends, which could further make the deal a possibility. For the Redskins, it’s all about value. They have only one pick in the opening four rounds (first round) and if they find a willing trade partner, they could ship Haynesworth after just one season.

Haynesworth apparently is in no mood to curry favor with Shanahan, having decided he’s not sticking around Redskins Park this offseason.

Haynesworth also does not intend to spend more time at the team’s training complex than he must, people with knowledge of the situation said.

The Redskins would prefer to trade Haynesworth before the three-day NFL draft that begins April 22, and ideally hope to have him off the roster before their first voluntary three-day minicamp begins April 16.

The Redskins might try to get Haynesworth to repay some of that $21 million roster bonus he received last Thursday in return for being traded to a team he likes, such as Tennessee or the Detroit Lions, where his former coordinator, Jim Schwartz, is now the head coach.

I’m not sure why Haynesworth has to be traded or why he has to play nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. If Maake Kemoeatu is healthy he’s the nose tackle for the Redskins, having played the position well for the Carolina Panthers. If Kemoeatu is not healthy then there is a problem, though it is the sort of problem Mike Shanahan & Co. should have thought of before deciding to switch to a 3-4 defense.

Considering what the team gave up for Haynesworth and the fact that he would be a very affordable player to whatever team got him [Snyder having paid most of the bill already], Washington needs to get a 1st round pick in any trade.