Belichick surprised many this year by not addressing the D-line in the draft, and he's got a left-field fix - according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he's traded a 2013 5th round draft pick for the talented but troubled D-lineman. Mike Shanahan is probably rubbing his hands in glee, but whatevs, he's still coach of the Redskins.
The trade is conditional upon Haynesworth passing his physical, and that's not a given if we remember his troubles last season.
However, in compensation for that 2013 5th round draft pick (which is practically a freebie, given Belichick has two entire draft pools' worth of picks in order to get that pick back), and the Patriots will be responsible for the (surprisingly?) reasonable $5m for the multiple Pro-Bowl D-lineman.
A few quick thoughts, given I haven't digested this yet.
Of course, there's a risk inherent in picking up the troubled big fella, but he's only worth his salary (and a measly 5th round future pick) to the Pats, so if he acts up, he can (and will) be cut. And if he doesn't, well... if a little of Wilfork's mindset and Warren's professionalism rubs off on Haynesworth, the Pats D-line just got a lot scarier.
Further, the apparent dearth of talent at OLB looks a lot less dire, because Warren, Wilfork and Haynesworth will soak up an entire O-line's worth of blockers and then some, and suddenly even so-so talented OLBs are running free in space.
Also, the Pats fill out their quote of one potentially self-destructive team-exploder per season (cough, Corey Dillon, cough, Randy Moss). Guess that dampens the Chad Ochocinco bandwagon.
Thoughts? Have at it. This discussion's going to be a doozy.
(Props to Section328 for finding this first, too)