Albert Haynesworth: Redskins took away my love for football

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Albert Haynesworth made headlines when he signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins in 2009. He then became a joke when he struggled with the team and was eventually traded to the Patriots in 2010.

The defensive tackle last played in the NFL in 2011 with the Buccaneers. Now that he's been out of the league for a while, he's ready to open up about his time in Washington. He spoke with a Nashville radio show about how his stint with the Redskins affected him. The Washington Post provided a recap:

“Well, I mean, it wasn’t fun. To be honest, after like a year or so of doing that, I mean, it really just got old. It was not, not fun. At Washington, it took my love away from the game. When I was with the Titans, playing for (defensive line coach Jim Washburn), we loved the game. We loved, as a D-line, to go out and just destroy an offense. We didn’t win all the time or whatever, but just to know that we really caused problems for other offenses and that we played extremely hard . . . And then, when I went to Washington, it almost became like politics. Almost. It wasn’t 100 percent about football. It was like maybe 50 percent about football, and then 50 percent about just getting the name out there. Like, how many times could you mention ‘Washington Redskins’? It was just so different.”

MORE: Worst clubhouse cancersShanahan called Haynesworth 'lazy' in '13 | Haynesworth said in '11 he should have signed with Bucs

Haynesworth received a huge contract from the Redskins because he had a lot of success during his time with the Titans. He made the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2008 and was a first-team All-Pro. He thinks about what would have happened if he had stayed in Tennessee.

“Oh, I think about it every single day,” Haynesworth said. “I wish I did. I loved playing for the Titans. Like I said, I’ve told many people, if the upper management of the Titans had stepped up and just offered me anything that was worthwhile, that would have been great, and I think I still would’ve been there today. I think (former Titans coach) Jeff Fisher would’ve still been there, I think Jim Washburn would’ve still been there — maybe not (former Titans defensive coordinator Jim) Schwartz because he was going to get a head coaching job — but I think you’d still have that core together.”

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Jordan Heck is a social media producer at Sporting News