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Albert Haynesworth walks off the field at Redskins Park after being held out of the team's first practice.
Fans ask fullback Mike Sellers for autographs following the Redskins' first training-camp practice session.
Head coach Mike Shanahan addresses the media. Haynesworth's status was the most popular topic.
Head coach Mike Shanahan addresses the media following the first day of Washington Redskins training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, VA, yesterday. |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN--
Albert Haynesworth's return to practice with his Washington Redskins teammates was delayed at least one more day because he didn't pass a conditioning test yesterday morning."Albert has got a lot of ability," new coach Mike Shanahan said after opening training camp with an afternoon practice. "If we get him in shape, if we get him in great football shape, he can help us. We're not going to put him out there until he's in that type of shape."
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Haynesworth failed the test--which included two timed sets of six 50-yard shuttle runs--after he left the field to use the restroom following the first set.
The test allows for a limited amount of time between sets, and Haynesworth was forced to start over from the beginning when he returned to the field despite having met the time requirement for the first set, sources said. There is a portable toilet on the sideline of the practice fields at Redskins Park, but a source said Haynesworth used a restroom inside the building that contains the locker room.
Shanahan would not confirm details of the test or say why Haynesworth failed. He also denied a ProFootballTalk.com report that he and Haynesworth exchanged tense words after Haynesworth failed.
According to the website, Haynesworth told Shanahan that he couldn't have passed the test even in his All-Pro seasons (2007 and 2008) with the Tennessee Titans. Shanahan reportedly replied, "I guess you have never been in shape, then."
"Albert was first class all the way," Shanahan insisted to reporters after practice. "He understood where I was coming from. He understands that he's got to be at a certain level to go out on the field and practice with the rest of our football team."
Haynesworth spent 40 minutes during the 70-minute practice on the treadmill inside the Redskins Park weight room, Shanahan said. After practice, he worked on a side field with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and defensive line coach Jacob Burney for about 20 minutes. The three discussed the terminology of the new defense, Shanahan said.
Haynesworth declined comment through a team spokesman. He appeared thinner than he ever did last season, evidence of the 35 pounds he lost during a 16-week program with a personal trainer.
Haslett also did not comment.
Haynesworth was the only player subjected to the test, Shanahan said, because he did not meet an unspecified threshold of attendance at the team's offseason conditioning program. Other players did enough running drills during the program to prove to Shanahan that they are in shape, he said.
Tackle Jammal Brown did not have to take the test because he did conditioning work at Redskins Park after being traded to the team following the conclusion of the offseason program, Shanahan said.
Meanwhile, Haynesworth's teammates did not seem irked by the situation.
"The conditioning test, a lot of us guys that were here 100 percent couldn't have passed that thing," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. "But that's what conditioning tests are. That's what they're supposed to be for. They're supposed to be, some of them, unattainable. Ones we've had in the past were definitely unattainable.
"But, you know, Haynes still came out here and gave it his all, man. He's doing everything he's got to do to get out on the field."
Linebacker London Fletcher, who called Haynesworth "selfish" for skipping a mandatory minicamp last month, seemed glad that Haynesworth was on the premises.
"Albert is coming here with the right mind set, and he is ready to work," Fletcher said. "Having the right mind set is important because from there a lot can be accomplished."
Shanahan said Haynesworth will have one chance per day to pass the test. He is expected to try again this morning before the Redskins practice at 8:30 a.m.
In the meantime, the saga continues.
"Hopefully he'll get it done tomorrow, but it may take two or three days," Shanahan said. "It may take a week. I really don't know."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
