The Steelers have bolstered their cornerback position in a big way by coming to terms with Joe Haden on a three-year, $27 million contract, according to ESPN.
How much he can help them is the next question, but he should be an upgrade to a position that long has been a sore spot for them on defense.
Cleveland released Haden on Tuesday, mainly because they would have had to pay him $11 million this season. Of that, $4 million was guaranteed and the Browns could be on the hook for some or even most of that depending on how the contract was structured with the Steelers.
Haden, 28, chose the Steelers over a reported interest of a dozen NFL teams. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Steelers still had not confirmed the signing.
The Browns' first-round draft pick and seventh overall in 2010 from Florida, he made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014. But injuries limited him to just 14 starts over the past two years and he had surgery on both groins after the 2016 season.
With the reported money they will pay him, Haden will be ticketed for a starting role alongside Artie Burns, the Steelers first-round draft pick last year. Ross Cockrell started with Burns last season.
In 2012, the NFL suspended Haden for four games for violating its rules against performance enhancing drugs.
The Browns signed him to a six-year, $74.7 million contract in 2014 but he proceeded to play in just 18 games over the next three seasons. He became a free agent when the Browns released him, although teams had to wait until 4 p.m. to sign him. News broke of the Steelers' agreement with Haden shortly after 4 p.m.
The Steelers have tried everything to improve their cornerback position _ via trades, draft picks, free agents and by signing cuts from other teams. Little has worked. Burns, so far, has been their only true success. They drafted Senquez Golson in the second round of 2015 and he has barely practiced in three years and likely will not make the team.
They traded for three cornerbacks over the past few years, most recently sending a backup center to the Washington Redskins in exchange for Dashaun Phillips one week ago. They acquired Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin during 2015 training camp for a fifth-round draft pick and used him sparingly that season. He left as a free agent after one year. Last September, they traded a sixth-round draft pick to Cleveland for cornerback Justin Gilbert, another former first-round pick of the Browns.
