National Football League

Haynesworth takes another day off

Published Jul. 31, 2010 2:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

Albert Haynesworth's sore left knee kept him from taking the Washington Redskins conditioning test once again Sunday, forcing him to sit out practice for the fourth straight day.

"There's no change from yesterday," coach Mike Shanahan said. "He's still sore, irritated, getting treatment, working out, and we'll see if he's ready to go tomorrow."

The two-time All-Pro defensive tackle won't be allowed to practice until he passes the test. He failed it on the first day of training camp Thursday and again on Friday. He didn't take it Saturday because he had a small amount of swelling in his knee.

After Sunday's practice was over, Haynesworth emerged for what has become a daily ritual. He spent about 15 minutes walking through plays with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and defensive line coach Jacob Burney, learning the nuances of the team's new 3-4 defense.

Haynesworth is the only Redskins player required to take the test because he skipped the team's offseason conditioning program, partly because he wanted to work out on his own and mostly because he didn't want to play nose tackle in the 3-4 scheme and was hoping for a trade. Everyone else on the roster had a grade of at least 50 percent participation.

Haynesworth, who received a $21 million bonus on April 1, is also attending team meetings, but his teammates say there's no substitute for practice.

"He's missed a lot," defensive end Phillip Daniels said. "This defense, I don't say it's hard to learn, but it's just a lot of terminology."