Haden’s return:

for him? Yes. Does he need to understand the situation in the first game in our stadium against the Pittsburgh Steeler? Yes, he does, but if I know DeShone well, he is gearing up ready to play and excited about the oppor- tunity.”

Just 21, Kizer grew up 45 miles from the hometown of Roethlisberger, who has become something of a folk hero in their region.

Today, Kizer will be closer than ever to Pittsburgh’s No. 7, a player he hopes to emulate.

“He is a guy who doesn’t go down easily,” Kizer said. “He is a guy who obviously prepares like the best of them, and then within his confi- dence. You have to be a guy who is weatherproof, a guy who is as tough as it gets. That is something that I am going to have to be able to do here in Cleveland.”

For Joe Haden, the game is a homecoming he could have never imagined. The corner- back was released last week after seven seasons with the Browns, who felt Haden’s production — he played in 18 games the past two seasons because of injury — wasn’t in line with his $11 million salary.

Haden quickly signed with the Steelers, a team he rarely beat in the past.

“I was just looking forward to trying to get to the playoffs, trying to spread my career to play where I haven’t played,” Haden said. “With them, I knew the opportu- nity was going to be there.”

Steelers safety Mike Mitchell sat out August with a lower-body injury. Now that September is here, the quarterback of Pittsburgh’s revamped secondary appears ready to play. Mitchell hasn’t missed a game during his three seasons despite being one of the most punishing hitters in the league. If Mitchell stays healthy, it gives coordinator Keith Butler considerably more options as he tries to institute more man-to-man coverage.

Good to go: