The Washington Redskins insist Albert Haynesworth will remain with the team through Tuesday's trade deadline.
Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday there's "a pretty good chance" that Haynesworth won't be sent elsewhere, even though the two-time All-Pro has missed three of six games and has clashed often with the coach this year.
"God, I'll be so glad when that's over with so I don't have to talk about this anymore," Shanahan said. "I've answered this question for the last six months, every day. You'll just have to wait and see."
Haynesworth was away from the team for almost a week, missing one game, following the death of his half brother in a motorcycle accident on Oct. 7. Haynesworth returned to practice Thursday, but Shanahan said that wasn't enough time to get back in shape and catch up on the game plan in time for Sunday's game against Indianapolis.
Teammates said Haynesworth could have helped on a day when the Redskins allowed 170 yards rushing in a 27-24 loss to the Colts. But Shanahan said Haynesworth's situation was different from that of a player such as Randy Moss, who played with Minnesota only a few days after being traded by New England.
"Randy Moss practiced throughout the whole week. Randy Moss was in excellent shape. Randy Moss does have an idea relative to different routes that Minnesota runs," Shanahan said. "Comparing a guy that's in football shape to a guy that missed practice for a week, part of the game plan, and you have no interaction with him and what went through his mind relative to the tragedy that he had, there's a lot of things that were weighted in that evaluation."
General manager Bruce Allen said over the weekend that Haynesworth won't be traded. Shanahan, who has final say over personnel matters, wouldn't go quite that far.
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"I just try to keep you guessing a little bit," the coach told reporters. "You just never know. You just have to wait. There's a pretty good chance, though, that he won't be traded."
Shanahan and Haynesworth have clashed over a variety of matters, including offseason workouts, practices, defensive schemes and preseason playing time. Haynesworth also missed a game in September with a sprained ankle.
