Steelers should wait on Haden extension
The quote came from Joe Haden’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, via ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Joe wants to finish his career with the Steelers if possible.”
It’s possible, all right. It’s actually advisable to extend Haden, but only if he has a healthy and productive age 32 season.
Seventeen games (maybe more) is a lifetime in the NFL, especially for an older cornerback with 146 games on the odometer. The Steelers should wait. It’s a plus knowing Haden wants to be here. Hopefully he’ll still feel that way if he has a big year on an expiring contract.
If Haden survives the grind of another season, if he thrives, the Steelers should absolutely be interested in extending him for a couple of years (price to be determined). He remains an excellent player. He’s been mostly healthy here — playing in 45 of a possible 48 games over the past three seasons — and
is a highly respected leader.
Also this: The Steelers are terrible at evaluating and developing cornerbacks; keeping Haden might be a way of protecting themselves from their own ineptitude there. Under normal circumstances, I might be ready to move on from an aging corner even if he has a good year. I’d look to draft one or acquire a younger one.
In the Steelers’ circumstance, I’d be more inclined to keep such a player.
They just aren’t very good at finding cornerbacks. I don’t trust them. You don’t trust them. They shouldn’t trust themselves. They’re pretty good at most other positions, excellent at some (receiver), but when it comes to corners, the track record speaks for itself. Artie Burns. Senquez Golson. Maybe now Justin Layne. You know the names, or at least you once did. Cam Sutton appears to be an exception. We’ll find out more this season.
The Steelers made Steven Nelson their all-time richest free agent signing but only got one good year out of him. The rest of the league — a passing league, remember, where men who defend the pass are at a premium — told us what they think of Nelson after the Steelers cut him. He settled for one-year, $4 million from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Haden was a gift from the football gods. He literally dropped into the Steelers’ laps when the Cleveland Browns cut him just before the 2017 season. After an injury riddled first year here, he has been nothing but productive. Nothing but a positive influence on everyone around him.
How much would he want? That’s always the question. And remember: A new deal is (or should be) about what the player will do, not what he has done. Haden’s $11 million average salary makes him the 14th highest-paid cornerback in the league, according to OverTheCap.com. CBS sports claims he is “likely pursuing an extension that would get him closer to the $13 million to $14 million range.”
That sounds too rich for me, although it is a critical position. And the AFC North is stocked with good young quarterbacks.
Let’s see how Haden fares over the next four or five months. It’s an endless season, but it will end. The Steelers should wait.