Albert Haynesworth Albert George Haynesworth III ( born June 27 , 1981 ) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League ( NFL ) for ten seasons . He played college football for the University of Tennessee . Drafted by 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 " , 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 he played less than two full seasons with Washington and the Redskins ' acquisition of Haynesworth has since been widely derided as the worst free agent signing in NFL history . High school career . Haynesworth was born in Hartsville , South Carolina . He attended Hartsville High School , and participated in football , track , and shotput . Playing under head coach Lewis Lineberger , Haynesworth accounted for 150 tackles , 56 tackles for loss , six sacks , and six fumble recoveries during his junior year ; he followed that by tallying 110 tackles , 51 quarterback pressures and six sacks as a senior in 1999 . Following his senior season Haynesworth was named a SuperPrep and Rivalnet All - American , and was also rated the No . 4 defensive lineman and No . 14 overall player in the nation according to ESPN ' s Top 100 , while National Recruiting Advisor rated him the No . 1 defensive tackle in the country . He was a member of the University of Tennessee Volunteers ' recruiting class of 1999 . College career . As a student - athlete at the University of Tennessee , Haynesworth was a three - year letterman for the Tennessee Volunteers football team . He lined up at right defensive tackle next to John Henderson . He compiled 66 tackles , five sacks , 31 quarterback pressures , 20 tackles for a loss and nine pass deflections during his career . He earned " Sporting News " Freshman All - American honors in 1999 and was named Second Team All - Southeastern Conference after his junior season . Professional career . 2002 NFL Draft . Considered " potentially a brutal run - stopper " by " The New York Times " , Haynesworth went 15th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft , picked by the Tennessee Titans . He was the fourth defensive tackle selected from a draft class considered to be loaded with talented defensive linemen . At Tennessee ' s Pro Day in 2002 , when he was just 20 years old , Haynesworth measured at 6 - foot - 6 , 317 pounds , ran a 4 . 82 40 - yard dash , had a 39 - inch vertical jump and an 9 - foot , 7 - inch broad jump . He did not workout at the 2002 NFL Combine . Tennessee Titans . An incident foreshadowing future incidents with Haynesworth occurred at a Titans training camp in 2003 , where Haynesworth kicked his former teammate , center Justin Hartwig , in the chest , then had to be restrained by other teammates . Stomping incident . On October 1 , 2006 in the third quarter of a game against the Cowboys , running back Julius Jones scored on a rushing play . Center Andre Gurode fell to the ground , and his helmet was removed by Haynesworth . Haynesworth tried to stomp on Gurode ' s head , but missed . A second stomp opened a severe wound on Gurode ' s forehead , narrowly missing his right eye . The referee assessed Haynesworth with a 15 - yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty , to which Haynesworth protested by taking off his helmet and throwing it into the turf ; Haynesworth was then assessed an additional 15 - yard penalty and ejected . Gurode later received 30 stitches just above and below his right eye . After the game , Titans coach Jeff Fisher apologized on behalf of the Titans organization to Cowboys coach Bill Parcells . After the game , Haynesworth apologized , saying " What I did out there was disgusting . It doesn ' t matter what the league does to me . The way I feel right now , you just can ' t describe it . " Gurode later said that he would not seek criminal charges against Haynesworth . He continued to experience headaches and blurred vision as of October 2006 . Video evidence of the play shows Haynesworth bend down towards Gurode prior to his helmet being off and prior to the stomps . Because the view is partially blocked by other players it is unclear whether Haynesworth manually removes the helmet . Therefore , most media outlets reported simply that Gurode ' s helmet was off . However , hometown columnist Mickey Spagnola of DallasCowboys . com argued that Haynesworth pulled off Gurode ' s helmet . On October 2 , 2006 , Haynesworth was suspended for five games without pay by the NFL . The suspension was only the second multi - game suspension in NFL history for an on - the - field incident , more than twice as long as the previous longest suspension , given in 1986 by Commissioner Pete Rozelle to Green Bay nose tackle Charles Martin . Based on his 2006 base salary of $ 646 , 251 , Haynesworth forfeited more than $ 190 , 000 . NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell , who had only been on the job a month , stated that there was " absolutely no place in the game , or anywhere else " for Haynesworth ' s behavior . However , " ESPN " s Mark Schlereth , a 12 - year NFL veteran , felt that Haynesworth should have been suspended for the rest of the season . " ESPN " s Merril Hoge harshly criticized the officials for not ejecting Haynesworth immediately after the stomp . Haynesworth ' s suspension is the longest for an in - game incident in modern NFL history . The NFL Players Association initially planned to appeal the suspension , calling it too severe . However , Haynesworth said on October 3 that he would not appeal , after personally apologizing to Gurode in the same day . In a press conference on October 5 , Haynesworth apologized to all who watched the game and said he had entered counseling to control his emotions . He also said that he would work with children in the Nashville area . Haynesworth was eligible to return on November 19 for the Titans ' game against the Philadelphia Eagles . Even then , there was no guarantee that he would play . Haynesworth ' s agent , Chad Speck , told several media outlets that Haynesworth fully expected to return to practice on November 13 , and he did indeed report that day . He played against the Eagles on November 19 , and recorded one tackle . Fisher told Parcells after the game that the Titans would punish Haynesworth themselves if they felt the NFL ' s punishment wasn ' t harsh enough . On the same day as Haynesworth ' s press conference , Fisher told a national radio show that the Cowboys game may have been Haynesworth ' s last as a Titan . The team had the option of either deactivating him for the final seven games of the season or releasing him . Had the Titans released him , they had enough room under the salary cap to absorb the $ 5 . 5 million they would owe him for 2007 . 2007 . On September 9 , 2007 , in the Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars , Haynesworth was called for unnecessary roughness when he slammed running back Maurice Jones - Drew to the ground after a tackle . He was fined $ 5 , 000 by the NFL for this incident . Afterwards , when asked if he would be gentler during play , he commented , " I ' m not going to be any gentler or whatever . Maybe I ' ll just help them up . " Haynesworth was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time for the 2007 NFL season . During this season following the stomping incident , he ranked second on the team with six sacks in his 11 games played up to the selection , led or tied for the team - high in total tackles three times that season , and led or tied the team - high in quarterback pressures five times . At the point where the Pro Bowl selection was made , the Titans were 8 – 3 in games in which Haynesworth started and 0 – 3 in games in which he did not play . Haynesworth said of his Pro Bowl selection , " It ’ s an awesome feeling . It ’ s kind of a load off my back because I didn ’ t want last year ’ s suspension to define my career . It was a difficult time in my life , but I was determined to keep working hard to get to this point and earn the respect of my teammates , coaches and fans . " Haynesworth failed to sign with Tenneesse due to the deadline of signing a franchise tagged player . Washington Redskins . An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason , Haynesworth signed a seven - year , $ 100 million contract with the Washington Redskins on the first day of free agency , February 27 , 2009 . The deal was expected to pay Haynesworth $ 32 million in the first 13 months , included $ 41 million guaranteed and could have reached $ 115 million if all incentives were met . Tennessee ’ s final offer to Haynesworth reportedly amounted to a four - year package worth $ 34 million total , with about $ 20 million in guarantees . Haynesworth reported on SIRIUS Blitz that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered him a $ 120 million deal that could potentially increase by 20 % . He says that he took a discount to play with the Redskins because of their large fan base and media outlet , something that he also did not have in Tennessee . In April 2009 , the Titans asked the NFL to consider tampering charges against the Redskins , claiming that the Redskins contacted Haynesworth before the free agency period began on February 27 . From the beginning of his time with the Redskins , Haynesworth presented problems for the coaching staff . He refused to participate in off - season workouts , and arrived at camp in poor physical condition , unable to pass a basic fitness test . He also made it clear that he did not like his place in the team ' s defensive scheme . After a 45 – 12 loss to the New York Giants on Monday Night in 2009 , Haynesworth questioned the scheme of defensive coordinator Greg Blache , and stated that he could not " survive another season in this system if it stays the way it is . " On December 7 , 2010 , it was announced that Haynesworth would spend the rest of the season on the restricted list . There had been conflicts throughout the 2010 preseason with Haynesworth and the coaching staff . After a dispute over his absence at a practice in which Haynesworth claimed to be ill , the team suspended him for " conduct detrimental to the club . " Coach Mike Shanahan said the suspension followed a refusal by Haynesworth to cooperate in a variety of ways and not only because of the practice absence . During the 2010 season , Haynesworth had a career - low 13 tackles and just 2 . 5 sacks in 8 games , leading the NFL Network to name the signing of Haynesworth as the " worst free - agency move of last decade " Many other NFL writers have gone further , calling Haynesworth the # 1 worst free agent bust in NFL history . New England Patriots . Haynesworth was traded to the New England Patriots on July 28 , 2011 for a fifth round draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft . He lasted less than four months with the Patriots , and on November 8 , 2011 Albert Haynesworth was placed on waivers . This came days after he got into a confrontation with assistant Pepper Johnson on the sidelines . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Two days after being released by the Patriots , Haynesworth was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . But he was released after the end of that season , on February 15 , 2012 . Legal issues . Arrest warrants were issued against Haynesworth in two Tennessee counties in May 2006 stemming from a traffic incident on Interstate 40 . Both sets of charges were dropped in June 2006 . The judge in the Putnam County case tossed the charges on the grounds that the alleged offense happened out of their jurisdiction . In Smith County , the district attorney dismissed the charges . In March 2009 , Haynesworth was indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from a December 2008 car accident in Tennessee . In an accident on Interstate 65 , Corey Edmonson was partially paralyzed after colliding with Haynesworth ' s car . Haynesworth was driving his Ferrari at speeds in excess of 100 mph when he struck Edmonson ' s vehicle , which struck a concrete barrier . On June 22 , 2010 , it was reported that Clayton Bank & Trust was suing the NFL lineman , alleging that Haynesworth had failed to make payments on a loan in the amount of more than $ 2 . 38 million . The suit was filed in the Knox County Chancery Court on June 18 , 2010 . According to papers , Haynesworth entered a commercial loan agreement for the original principal amount of $ 2 , 381 , 688 . 58 on June 27 , 2009 . On February 27 , 2009 the two parties entered into an Extension Agreement with an effective date of February 27 , 2010 , according to the suit . The attorney for Clayton Bank & Trust , Hugh B . Ward , Jr . , was seeking a little over $ 2 . 4 million . In 2010 , Silvia Mena , a stripper from New York , claimed in a $ 10 million lawsuit that Haynesworth impregnated her and left her with no financial assistance . In 2011 , Haynesworth allegedly threw a punch to the nose of Joel Velazques , 38 , of Leesburg , Va . during a traffic altercation In popular culture . In a response to Haynesworth ’ s failure to pass the Redskins conditioning test in July 2010 , the August 27 , 2010 edition of " The Onion " ran the headline ( with an accompanying photo ) , " Report : Albert Haynesworth Just A Mound Of Ice Cream And Hot Dogs . "