NFL, viewers shouldn't expect defensive tackle's career to be similar to Randy Moss
Albert Haynesworth is 30 years old. He’s at the crossroads of his career, but he’s financially set. The Patriots acquired the former star for a fifth-round draft pick after wasting away for two seasons in Washington, D.C. Sounds quite familiar to another Patriots project.
It’s 2007. A wide receiver had wasted away two seasons of his career in Oakland. The Patriots acquired this aging superstar at 30 years old in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Randy Moss was at a crossroads in his career.
Moss broke onto the scene with six straight seasons with more than 1,200 yards and 77 combined touchdowns over that stretch.
Haynesworth emerged initially by stomping on Andre Gurode’s head in 2006, but as a player he received his first major individual accolade with a Pro Bowl selection in 2007. Haynesworth followed it up with another dominant campaign as the anchor of the 13-3 Titans in 2008. It’s harder to quantify the successes of a defensive tackle since the box score does not have a clogging-the-middle-of-the-defensive-line stat, but Haynesworth did it the best.
Randy Moss went for more than 1,000 yards in one of his seasons with the Raiders, but he honed a reputation of one who took off plays. Haynesworth’s defiance was a little easier to define. He began calling out his defensive coordinator at the end of his first season with the Redskins. During training camp of his second season with the Redskins, his insubordination became even clearer as his conditioning test failures became a daily fixture on “SportsCenter.” The Frank McCourt-esque divorce seemed to be imminent. The eventual separation was well on its way after a Week 13 team suspension a la Keyshawn Johnson in 2003.
Moss was as excited as Tom Cruise on Oprah Winfrey’s couch after he learned he would be leaving the likes of Kerry Collins, Andrew Walter and a combined 6-26 record with the Raiders for the three-time Superbowl Champion Tom Brady. Haynesworth will not have a running mate like Brady to play against, but he will reap the benefits of Brady shifting from a 10-22 team heading nowhere to a perennial contender that compiled a 24-8 record over the last two seasons.
The biggest consistency for Moss and Haynesworth is and will be Bill Belichick. Haynesworth attempted to get into a media battle with Mike and Kyle Shanahan last season, but no such thing will be permitted with New England. Belichick has nothing to lose; he only gave up a fifth-round pick. Haynesworth is at a crossroads, and we can’t expect a Moss-esque first year — one of the greatest in NFL history for a receiver. But we should brace ourselves for something near that level. And if not, Haynesworth can spend his next 60 years counting his $41 million and riding around in Ferraris at 100 mph and fast boats at 150 mph — not a terrible life but a terrible legacy.
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