Browns reportedly trying to trade Haden
Joe Haden’s bounceback season might not happen with the Cleveland Browns.
The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, who has been limited by injuries the past two years, is reportedly being shopped and coach Hue Jackson did nothing to clarify Haden’s future. After practice Tuesday, Jackson did not deny a report that the Browns are “aggressively trying to trade” Haden.
“This is the time of year where everything starts happening,” Jackson said when asked about the report. “Things start getting said. Obviously, I don’t know that. But we’ll deal with those things as we move forward.”
Jackson deferred other questions about Haden to Sashi Brown, the team’s executive vice president of football operations.
“I trust Sashi and his group to make the right decisions that I think is best for our football team,” Jackson said. “Do I want Joe Haden on our football team? Yes, but whatever our organization thinks is best for our football team, that’s what we’ll do.”
Agent Drew Rosenhaus declined to comment. The Browns did not make Haden available following practice.
Haden is to make $11.1 million this season, and the Browns could be trying to unload his contract to add a receiver because the team lacks playmakers at that position.
A possible trading partner could be Indianapolis, which will be without Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis. Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Davis suffered a “pretty significant” groin injury last week against Pittsburgh.
A former first-round pick, Haden signed a five-year, $67.5 million extension in 2014.
Elliott appeal goes to second day
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott’s appeal of his six-game suspension over a domestic violence incident is headed for a second day with no timeline for completion of the hearing.
The appeal before arbitrator Harold Henderson is being held at an undisclosed location. The NFL suspended Elliott, the league’s leading rusher in 2016 as a rookie out of Ohio State, after concluding that he was physically abusive toward his then-girlfriend in the Columbus area last summer. Prosecutors declined to pursue the case.
The 22-year-old was excused from practice this week to attend the hearing.
Wrapping up
The New England Patriots acquired linebacker Marquis Flowers from Cincinnati for a seventh-round draft pick next year, getting a player that the Bengals planned to release. Flowers was limited to special teams last year, playing in 16 games. … The Pittsburgh Steelers have added depth at tight end, acquiring Vance McDonald and a 2018 fifth-round draft pick from San Francisco. The Steelers sent a fourth-round pick to the 49ers. McDonald caught 24 passes for San Francisco in 2016, setting career highs with 391 yards receiving and four touchdowns.