RUMOR: Haynesworth to TB?

[EyePod]

Would Haynesworth look good in pewter and red?

While the Tennessee Titans have said that bringing back Albert Haynesworth is their top offseason priority, there is a chance the two sides will not reach an agreement. One likely destination should this not happen is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL insiders have told Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times Bucs Beat blog. The fundamental basis of the Haynesworth-to-Tampa rumor is threefold: First, the Bucs had issues with stopping the run in 2008, especially late in the season as their playoff hopes crumbled. Second, the team has over $40 million of cap space to play with, and Haynesworth will likely command one of the biggest contracts in history for a defensive tackle. Third, Haynesworth had previously told the Nashville City Paper that "either way I want to stay by my kids and stay by my house in Knoxville." While Knoxville and Tampa aren't exactly neighboring communities, it would certainly be closer to home than some of the other rumored destinations.
The Buccaneers lost longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin after the 2008 season, and he was replaced by Jim Bates. Bates' defensive philosophy centers on utilizing the defensive tackles to clog the middle of the line and relying on speed around the edges and in the linebacking corps. Haynesworth would clearly fit the bill in that line-clogging role, and he and Bates share a common history as graduates of the University of Tennessee.

Now, the distance from Knoxville to TB is 10 hours and 7 minutes.

The distance from Knoxville to KC is 11 hours and 13 minutes....

I don't think 1 hour is that much of a difference. I think we fit the criteria that ESPN used even more than TB. We were worse at stopping the run than TB, and ours wasn't just at the end of the season. We were bad the whole season. We have about the same amount of cap space. And we aren't that far away either. I know it doesn't seem like Pioli goes after huge FA's, but I wouldn't mind getting Haynesworth.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/features/rumors