Tennessee Titans: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By John Buhler
35. . DT. (2002-08). Albert Haynesworth. 20. player
- 2x First-Team All-Pro (2007-08)
- 2x Pro Bowl (2007-08)
- 271 career combined tackles w/Titans
- 24.0 career quarterback sacks w/Titans
Albert Haynesworth was the best defensive tackle prospect in his high school graduating class. He would play in the SEC for the Tennessee Volunteers for head coach Phillip Fulmer, alongside another excellent interior defensive lineman in John Henderson.
Haynesworth decided to forgo his senior season in Knoxville to enter the 2002 NFL Draft. He ended up being the No. 15 overall pick by Titans, a team where he became a star in the middle of its defensive line playing for head coach Jeff Fisher.
After playing sparingly as a rookie in 2002, Haynesworth emerged as a starter in year two. However, injuries prevented him from every appearing in all 16 regular season games for the rest of his career sans his rookie campaign with the Titans.
Infamously in 2006, Haynesworth would stomp on Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode’s head after running back Julius Jones scored a touchdown. He would be given a five-game suspension for the act, the most for a single on-field incident in NFL history.
Though Haynesworth would later apologize for his behavior, the incident would stick with him throughout his NFL career. But Haynesworth had two more excellent years left in the tank, coming with the Titans in 2007 and 2008. He made two Pro Bowls and two First-Team All-Pro squads in his final two years with the Titans.
Haynesworth finished his Titans career with 271 combined tackles and 24.0 quarterback sacks. Not bad for a defensive tackle. During 2008 NFL free agency, Haynesworth would sign with the Washington Redskins free agency.
This proved to be one of the worst free agent signings in NFL history. He played two seasons in Washington and split his final NFL season in 2011 between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Haynesworth went from being an All-Pro at age 27 in 2008 to out of the league in 2011 at age 31.
Overall, Haynesworth’s NFL career is a complicated one. Tremendously talented, but certainly had his issues, as well as a tendency to go off-script. Haynesworth’s two First-Team All-Pros has him cracking the top-20. However, one could argue that he never got the most out of his talent coming out of college with the Vols for the Titans.