Pittsburgh Steelers land Joe Haden on three-year contract
The Cleveland Browns cut Joe Haden, and he quickly signed on with his former rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers on a three-year contract…
It wasn’t 20 minutes that the league made official the Cleveland Browns’ somewhat surprising move to cut cornerback Joe Haden, and he reportedly signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns cut the former two-time Pro Bowler and first round draft pick after seven seasons with the team, where he racked up 377 tackles and 19 interceptions.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report Haden’s three-year contract from Pittsburgh:
Steelers are expected to sign former Browns CB Joe Haden to a three-year, $27 million deal, including $7M this year, sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2017
Steelers CB Joe Haden had bigger offers from other teams that he turned down because he wanted Pittsburgh. Haden a Steeler.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2017
Initial reports that came out this morning indicated the Steelers were the favorites to land Haden, and that has obviously proven to be the case.
Unfortunately for Steelers fans, the signing of Haden comes with a bit of a catch. Haden hasn’t played well in two straight seasons, so Pittsburgh is going to have to find a way to get him back to the solid play we haven’t seen since at least 2014.
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There was a point earlier in Haden’s career where he was considered to be one of the premiere, up-and-coming cornerbacks in the entire NFL. Now, at the age of 28 and heading into what should be the prime years of his career, he’s been cut.
This is a move I still really like for the Steelers, even with the money and the recent poor play from Haden. They signed him to a three-year deal, and we don’t know specifics yet, but that’s usually done to spread the money out more effectively. The Steelers are really good with drawing up contracts that are team-friendly, so I don’t expect this one to be any different.
There was an obvious need in the secondary there, and Haden is a much better flier than Justin Gilbert, another former Brown they once took a chance on.
Haden, unlike Gilbert, has proven himself a top flight corner in this league, at least in the recent past. Pittsburgh has a chance to extract that player once again, and that’s why this is a risk worth taking.
The Steelers have been busy the last couple of days, also trading for San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald, who will add another explosive element to an already loaded offense.