The day before bitter rivals the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers meet for the first time this season, word has come that arguably the greatest player to have productive tenures for both franchises is retiring from football.
And he’s doing so as a Brown, not a Steeler.
Cornerback Joe Haden will ceremoniously retire as a member of the Browns. Haden’s longtime agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said via email Wednesday that Haden will sign a one-day contract with the Cleveland organization “in the near future.”
Haden played 12 NFL seasons, from 2010-16 for the Browns and the past five seasons for the Steelers. The 33-year-old Haden started 11 of the 12 games he played last season but did not receive a contract offer to his liking to continue his career.
Haden was named to the Pro Bowl roster three times, twice with Cleveland and once with the Steelers. He had 19 of his 29 career interceptions and 101 of his career 155 passes defended with the Browns. But Haden never appeared in a playoff game for the Browns and the teams he played for in Cleveland went an aggregate 29-83. The Steelers from 2017-21 with Haden on the roster went 51-28-2 and made the playoffs three times.
Haden was a surprise cut at the end of the Browns’ 2017 training camp; the next day, he signed with the Steelers for three years and $27 million. The Steelers gave him a two-year extension two years later.
When there was no movement on an extension during the 2021 preseason, Rosenhaus said Haden would test free agency for the first time. When The Athletic reported last month that the Steelers reached out to Haden about joining the team but Haden told them he had no interest, Haden responded via his verified Twitter account by saying, “Fake news!!”
The Steelers (1-1) and Browns (1-1) are scheduled to play at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
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