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The Pittsburgh Steelers are welcoming their new cornerback in Joe Haden with open arms, though that doesn’t mean Steelers safety Robert Golden would just give up his jersey number to the former Pro Bowl cornerback for free.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Haden had to flash some cash in order for him to get the rights for Golden’s No. 21.
Haden on Wednesday wore his new No. 21 jersey, which he got from safety Robert Golden (now No. 20) at a price.”
“I had to pay a little bit,” said Haden, who wore No. 23 with Cleveland.
The Cleveland Browns cut the two-time Pro Bowler over the summer after they had a hard time finding a team willing to trade for Haden. His durability is the biggest issue surrounding him, as he’s missed 16 games over the past two seasons due to a number of injuries.
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Even when he’s on the field last season, Haden barely looked like the lockdown corner he was prior to the rash of injuries he’s had with the Browns. Pro Football Focus even gave Haden an overall grade of 46.0, which translates to a poor designation according to the site’s metrics.
That didn’t deter Pittsburgh from scooping Haden off of the waivers, as they are in real need of help in the secondary. The Steelers ranked 18th last season against the pass.
The veteran cornerback has yet to take the field in a regular season game with the Steelers, but guys like Antonio Brown are already flush with kind words for Haden, whom they admire for being as professional on the field as he is off of it.
“Imagine playing on a team that's losing every time — you're the guy on defense out there every week covering the best guy,” Haden said. “It takes a certain amount of mental fortitude. Come December, everyone's checked out that they know they aren't making the playoffs. His mentality was to be out there competing and sticking the best guys. I commend Joe.”
