Despite what reports suggested on Tuesday, Albert Haynesworth’s agent says that his client has no deal with the Washington Redskins.

“Albert is not allowed to have a deal with another team, and he doesn’t have a deal with another team,” Speck e-mailed Tuesday night. “We continue to keep the lines of communication open with Tennessee. The rumors suggesting that a deal is in place between Albert and the Washington Redskins are completely false.”

What is true is that the Redskins are one of a handful of teams that will have interest in Haynesworth. But for whoever signs him, it isn’t going to cheap. Haynesworth widely is expected to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, with a deal that will defy today’s economic hardships and send tremors around the league. The deal could wind up including a signing bonus in the vicinity of $40 million dollars. Washington will have interest. But so will Detroit, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and others.

And the big question as free agency opens Friday will be what is Haynes-worth?

Don’t read too much into this. Haynesworth’s agent has to say that there’s no deal in place or else the Redskins could face tampering charges for talking to another team before the free agency period opens on Februarys 27. But agents talk to teams all the time before the start of free agency or else how do deals get worked out in the first hour that the period opens?

Where there’s smoke there’s fire and there’s a lot of smoke coming from Washington. I highly expect Haynesworth to be a Redskin by the end of the week.