When Joe Haden was released by the Browns prior to the start of the 2017 season, he had just one destination in mind -- Pittsburgh.
Haden made that a reality, signing with the Steelers a week before the start of that season just days after his surprising release.
Now 32, Haden has made it clear to the team he'd like to stay beyond this season.
"I still feel like I’ve got a couple, three, four left. It’s just a blessing," the 12-year veteran told me after the Steelers practiced Monday at Heinz Field. "I think it’s definitely realistic. I’m trying to work and get another extension now. It is what it is with the salary cap and stuff going down. We’ve got to figure out what’s going on with T.J. (Watt), but they know how I feel here. I know that I want to be here, so we’re trying to figure something out."
The Steelers definitely want to get a new deal done with Watt before the start of this season, but Art Rooney II said last week that they would continue to look at some other players on expiring deals as well.
Haden's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had no comment on any ongoing talks, but Haden is entering the final season of a contract that pays him a $7 million base salary with a cap hit of $15.575 million. It's part of a two-year, $22.4-million extension Haden signed two years ago.
And before you think the Steelers might not want the veteran around for the long term, realize they could have released him in the offseason this year at a cap savings of $7 million. Instead, they released fellow cornerback Steven Nelson at a savings of $8.25 million, despite Nelson being four years younger.
Haden, who has 29 career interceptions and has made three Pro Bowls, including one in his previous four seasons with the Steelers, knows all too well the business side of things.
He got a first-hand look at it in Cleveland, which released him just before the start of the 2017 season despite not having a real replacement in hand.
"I thought I did all of the things right. That’s when I realized the business part of things," Haden said. "I met with their (then) general manager, Sashi Brown. He called me into his office and he was like, ‘Hey Joe, we love you and love everything you do on and off the field in the city, it’s been amazing. But you don’t need to be paid like a top-5 corner any more. You’re making $11 (million), we want to cut it to $7 (million).
"They had just signed Brock Osweiller for $16 million that year. He didn’t even play. I’m like, ‘Bro, there’s no (freaking) way.’ I was hurt the last year, but no. We have space. Who are you making space for? You’re not even going to sign anybody."
Within days, he had a job with the Steelers, who signed him to a three-year, $27-million contract.
"I said a couple of years before that if they gave me a reason to get out of there, I want to go somewhere I could be happy," said Haden of the Browns, who had gone 1-15 in 2016 and would go 0-16 in 2017. "We kept turning it around and getting smacked. We’re not turning it around and winning some games. Once I figured out they were releasing me, the first team I wanted to come to is here. I met Coach (Mike) Tomlin during the draft process and he was like, ‘Joe, I know we can’t get you, we’re not picking high enough, but we wanted to meet you.’ Ever since then, I was like, ‘I love this dude.’ And (Maurkice) Pouncey was here. We went to school together. They were always having a great time."
He now sees it as a blessing in disguise, even though the Browns have finally turned things around.
Haden is happy in Pittsburgh. He's now a valued leader on the team. And he wants to stay.
As he says, he now knows the defense like the back of his hand, unlike how things were in Cleveland, when the Browns changed coaches seemingly every other year after they selected Haden with the seventh-overall pick in the 2010 draft.
"It was probably every year," Haden said of the coaching changes in Cleveland. "It was a lot tougher because when coaches come in, they like to bring their staff, their plays and they don’t want to have too much of the old regime. ‘This is why y’all were losing. We’re going to switch everything up.’ It was more that I had to prove myself to every coach. I had to prove that I was attentive, that I knew the plays myself and had to prove myself every year to a new coach.
"Here, the staff knows me. I know them. They know what I’m capable of. They treat me as a pro. I’m just a lot more comfortable here."
