Should the Detroit Lions Consider Trading for Washington Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth?

Albert Haynesworth has pouted the entire off-season about the Washington Redskins transition to the 3-4 defense and mistreatment from head coach Mike Shanahan. Reports have arisen from ESPN that the Redskins are looking for potential trade partners to eliminate Haynesworth from being a continuous cancer on the field and in the clubhouse. The primary trading partner that has surfaced is the Tennessee Titans, Haynesworth's former team.

Albert Haynesworth looked like he was on verge of a historic career in Tennessee before accepting a $100 million contract from the Redskins in the 2009 off-season. Since then, he has been plagued by injuries, performed far below his contract, and has constantly expressed displeasure with the Redskins organization throughout the 2010 off-season.

While Haynesworth did flourish in the Titans defensive scheme, Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator, currently head coach of the Detroit Lions. The Titans still rely on a 4-man pass rush, but their effectiveness dropped off dramatically in 2009 after Haynesworth and Schwartz left. Even in 2010, there's no guarantee that Haynesworth will find the same dominance as Kyle Vanden Bosch and Keith Bulluck left this past free agency.

However, if any team could resurrect Haynesworth and reinvigorate his interests in playing professional football, I believe it could be the Detroit Lions.

Acquiring Haynesworth would reunite him with Jim Schwartz. The Lions spent frivolously to restructure a defense that has given up over 500 points the past two seasons. Having watched many Titans games under Schwartz, the defense relies heavily on a 4-man rush. A lackadaisical pass rush is damning to the defensive scheme, however, an effective rush like Schwartz had in Tennessee allows the other 7 defenders to play the pass while the quarterback is hurried, leading to a defense that allows limited points.

The Lions added Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Wiliams, Lawrence Jackson, and Ndamukong Suh this off-season to enhance the pass rush. In this defensive scheme, you can never have enough defensive linemen because one injury can cripple its effectiveness. Vanden Bosch was part of Schwartz's Titans defenses, so Haynesworth has a chemistry with him.

Those were the two major pieces of the Titans defensive pass rush in Schwartz's scheme before being surrounded by a rotation of quality defensive linemen. Now, imagine that Tennessee Titans defensive line with Ndamukong Suh alongside Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch. A defensive line rotation of Haynesworth, Suh, Vanden Bosch, Williams, Jackson, and Avril would be amongst the league's best and effective in Schwartz's system. The possibilities are endless, and the defensive backs would automatically improve upon the pass rush and necessity of keeping more players in to block, similarly to the Titans defensive backs under Schwartz.

Should the Lions acquire Haynesworth? At the least, they should see what the Redskins want. Supposedly, they want two draft picks. If Schwartz believed Haynesworth would accept the change of scenery in Detroit, they could find the final piece of a potential pass rush to accompany a young offense with loads of potential.

Detroit is his best chance for Haynesworth to revive his career. Despite that, expect Haynesworth to remain with the Redskins as they've invested too much into him to give up this soon.

Visit my website HERE for more NFL news, predictions, and editorials.

REFERENCES:

Chris Mortensen, "Albert Haynesworth on way out." ESPN. September 7, 2010. September 7, 2010.