As it turns out, the Washington Redskins are not going to cut Albert Haynesworth before the end of the season.  They’ll likely cut him at the conclusion of the season, but for now they have decided to suspend their $100 million man without pay.  If the decision stands once the NFLPA reviews the case, Haynesworth will not suit up for the final four games of the season and will miss out on roughly $850,000 in salary.

The decision comes after the relationship between Haynesworth and the Redskins’ coaching staff has gone from bad, to worse, to down right horrendous.  The most recent episode involved reports that Haynesworth was benched on Sunday for being a minute late to practice the previous Friday.  Other reports indicated the defensive tackle was “too sick to practice” on Friday because he was hungover.  Naturally, Haynesworth said those reports were bogus.

According to the Washington Post, Redskins general manager Bruce Allen informed Haynesworth of the decision on Tuesday morning because Albert is no longer speaking to Mike Shanahan.  The childish decision to give his coach the cold shoulder seems to have been the last straw for Haynesworth in Washington.  Here’s some of what Shanahan had to say about the suspension:

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The Redskins are going to look very silly if they release Albert Haynesworth, but the situation in Washington seems to be irreversible.  When Mike Shanahan benched Haynesworth on Sunday for being a minute late to practice the previous Friday, you had to believe the end of a horrible relationship was drawing near.  It looks like the ‘Skins are finally going to give up on a free agent signing gone terrible.

According to Pro Football Talk, via Chris Russell of ESPN 890 in Washington, D.C., the Redskins are seriously considering cutting Haynesworth and there is a 75 percent chance the move will happen before this weekend.  The Shanahan-Haynesworth relationship has seemingly gone from bad to worse since training camp, with the most notable confrontation revolving around the defensive tackle’s inability to “pass” Shanahan’s conditioning test.  Shanahan and his coaching staff even termed Haynesworth’s play “awful” in the preseason.

You can pin the blame for the sour relationship on Haynesworth or Shanahan, but it won’t really matter if the Redskins cut him.  All that matters is Washington signed him to one of the most lucrative deals in NFL history and ended up with nothing to show for it.  Had they traded him during training camp, they could have at least received a draft pick in return.  Releasing the 330-pounder will be admitting an epic mistake for the Redskins’ franchise, which has struggled enough as it is lately.

Albert Haynesworth was ruled inactive for Sunday’s game between the Redskins and Giants, but reports as to why have been mixed.  Orginally, the Washington Post reported that Mike Shanahan decided to deactivate Haynesworth because he missed Friday’s practice with an illness.  The Post also noted that he was healthy enough to play.

Pro Football Talk is now reporting, via Kelli Johnson of CSN Washington, that Haynesworth was one minute late for practice on Friday.  Piecing together the various reports gives us the impression that Shanahan benched Haynesworth for being late, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.

Shanahan and Haynesworth have had a sour relationship since day one, as evidenced by the entire conditioning test saga.  His teammates don’t seem to be very fond of him either and it’s been said that he’s a terrible fit for a 3-4 defensive scheme.  If Haynesworth is still in a Redskins uniform by training camp next year, there will be a lot of surprised people around the NFL.