We’ve seen the reports that Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth’s election to the AFC Pro Bowl roster secured for him unrestricted free agency in 2009, since making the all-star team was one of the four triggers that prevents the Titans from slapping the franchise tag on him for a second straight season.
But here’s the thing — as a practical matter, Haynesworth already had won his freedom.
Once the Titans won their tenth game, Haynesworth had to participate in only 53 percent of the total snaps on defense for the year in order to avoid the franchise tender. Given that he started in each of the team’s first 14 games, the Titans would have to generate a physically impossible number of defensive snaps in the final two weeks to push Haynesworth under 53 percent.
The real question, as we see it, is whether the Titans will try to lock him up before he hits the market.
As we see it, the team is in a no-win situation. Selected in the first round of the 2002 draft, Haynesworth was a borderline bust in his first four seasons. He slid squarely into “turd” category in 2006, when he treated the forehead of Cowboys center Andre Gurode like a block of aged gouda.
Last year, with the promise of a gigantic payday staring in his face, Haynesworth suddenly became a monster. This year, with the opportunity to hit the market while at the same time making more than $7.25 million, he played once again like the guy he was expected to be coming out of the University of Tennessee.
But once he gets paid, what will happen? Will he, like several other defensive tackles who have cashed in, go soft? For the privilege of finding out, the Titans will have to fork over a ton of cash.
And if they let him walk, then he’ll likely have a chip on his shoulder in his new city. So if he plays like a beast in 2009, the Titans will look stoopid for letting him go.
The problem is that most fans don’t understand these nuances of the sport/business. Thus, the Titans likely will be pushed into overpaying for Haynesworth — and for assuming the risk that, once he’s financially comfortable, he’ll realize once again that banging bodies with other very big men really, really hurts.