Chris Russell of 980 ESPN reports via his Twitter page that Redskins’ defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth will arrive early for training camp on Wednesday in an effort to reach out to head coach Mike Shanahan.

That’s good news, but it’s only a start.

Although they were few and far between, some believed that Haynesworth was within his rights to complain about his situation in Washington. They said that because the Redskins switched their defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and wanted Haynesworth to play defensive end that he should have begged his way out of Washington.

But while that argument made sense on the surface, it completely ignored the fact that Haynesworth questioned the Redskins’ scheme last year as well – when he was playing in a 4-3. Following a 45-12 loss to the Giants on MNF, Haynesworth stated that he couldn’t survive another season in Greg Blache’s system.

So the team changed coordinators and schemes, and Haynesworth still complained. This time he didn’t even bother showing up – he just bitched from his couch and collected the $21 million in bonus money that the Redskins paid him. Does he have to play after receiving that bonus money? No, not legally. But how someone can collect $21 million and not show up for work is beyond me. Does he think he’s the only player that didn’t like the scheme that he was in? Does he think he’s the only one that feels as though his skills would be better suited for another alignment in another city?

What it boiled down to was Haynesworth being selfish. He wanted to keep the Redskins’ money, but also be traded to a better situation. Spin it however you want, but that isn’t right.

That said, in recent weeks Haynesworth has changed his tune. He’s lost 40 pounds and has reportedly accepted his role with the Redskins. He might be motivated solely because he doesn’t want to lose the bonus money, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. What matters is he shows up to camp in good shape and works his ass off in order to help his team win. It’s great that he wants to reach out to Shanahan and settle the situation, but he doesn’t have to. Haynesworth contributing and working towards the team’s common goal will mean more to Shanahan than an apology.

Haynesworth is only in year two of a seven-year commitment to Washington. He’s off to a rocky start so far, but there’s still time for him to turn things around and be the player that the Redskins hoped he’d be when they signed him last offseason. He’s a great player, but it’s up to him to make things right in D.C.