The Washington Commanders football franchise is entering a new era under Josh Harris.
For 24 years the team was under the thumb of former owner Daniel Snyder, where the team didn’t have much success, going 164-22 with just two playoff wins. A huge problem during Snyder’s tenure was how he continuously overpaid for free agents who didn’t fit what his team needed.
One of those occurred in 2009, when he signed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a hefty seven-year, $100 million deal as soon as midnight struck to begin free agency. The move never materialized into anything significant with Haynesworth, who was released after two seasons.
In a recent interview with Outkick’s “Hot Mic,” the former Tennessee Volunteers star sounded off on former teammates while praising Snyder.
Haynesworth Trashes Former Teammates
During his playing days, Haynesworth was never known as a guy who galvanized the locker room, and that definitely wasn’t the case in Washington where his effort was often called into question.
Despite his shaky reputation as a player in Washington, Haynesworth decided to throw his former teammates under the bus.
“In that locker room, it was a joke. I got a couple guys that I still talk to, but most of them are trash,” he said. “They’d be talking coming out of the tunnel what club they were going to and they got a table. … it’s the ones that be like chirping, talking about me, you know? I’m just like, ‘Dude, I can call you about all the stuff you guys were doing, so don’t even, like, my bring my name into it.”
“Yeah, it’s all of them like DeAngelo Hall, Clint Portis, Chris Cooley. They’re a joke. They belong in Washington because they are what the team represented back then, which is trash.”
For Haynesworth to talk like this is very mind-boggling, considering he was the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league, who had just 6.5 sacks over two seasons. Haynesworth also had his share of legal issues while in D.C. as well. In 2011, he was accused of sexual abuse when allegedly groped a woman at a D.C nightclub. He pleaded no-contest and was ordered to perform 160 hours of community service for simple assault.
Haynesworth Sort Of Praises Daniel Snyder
In the interview, Haynesworth spoke pretty highly of Snyder, as he did give him $100 million when he probably wasn’t anywhere near that.
“We were like super cool. Everybody’s like, Dan’s an a-hole, whatever, but he’s not. Everyone’s like, he ruined Washington D.C. He ruined the Commanders. This guy, who he was … he loved Washington. He’s like watching every practice, he’s doing all that stuff.”
Haynesworth also piggybacked the same sentiments former Washington head coach Jay Gruden recently did concerning Snyder’s way of running his team. Both said he didn’t know enough about football or put in the work required to learn about players before signing them, but he did it anyway.