After Saturday night’s preseason game against the Ravens, Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth accused coach Mike Shanahan of minimizing the health condition that kept Haynesworth out of practice for multiple days last week.
Per Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, Haynesworth likely has rhabdomyolysis, a condition arising from damage to muscle fibers and the release of muscle fiber contents into the bloodstream.
Symptoms reportedly include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and swelling, and the condition is caused by, among other things, severe exertion or heat exposure. Two of the practices Haynesworth missed resulted from heat-related symptoms. On Thursday, Shanahan said that Haynesworth had a “headache.”
(Though I’d never heard the term “rhabdomyolysis” before, I once developed it by running five miles on a hot day while not being in very good shape. I ended up at the urologist due to brown urine -- please enjoy your Pepsi -- and the urologist said it was due to muscle damage from overexertion in hot conditions. And, please, feel free to comment on how you don’t care about my own personal experiences in this regard.)
As to Haynesworth, the episode further poisons the relationship between player and team. We suspect that, if/when a starting-caliber defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense tears an ACL, Haynesworth would be shipped to that team within hours. With Haynesworth already vowing not to show up for next year’s offseason program, it’s safe to say that 2010 will be his last year in D.C., barring a miracle.