Haden Rumor

[steeler_george]

Jason La Conforna is reporting that they might want Haden to take a pay cut, or could be looking to restructure his contract, or a cap casualty.

Although he is our best DB, there could be a case, that makes sense, sort of how people want to cut ties with Bell to save money to improve the defense. Just insert Haden instead of Bell.


Just say we cut ( numbers are not exact):
Haden saves 4million
Mitchel saves 5 million
Gay saves 2 million
Sensabaugh 2 million
Wilcox saves 3 million

That is 17 million, maybe enough to sign BOTH an ILB such as Avery Williams/Brown and Safety like Reid, Joyner,Boston.

Then we can go in the draft looking for BPA and not draft through desperation seeking ILB and Safety

Add two of those position players, and an improved Sutton, Burns, and Hilton and maybe a star from the draft ( OLB, NT, or even CB, ILB ) and depth to improve the Defense.

[feltdizz]

I would prefer we restructure and keep him.

I’m not a fan of moving on from really good players in hopes of acquiring really good players.

[Iron City Inc.]

I would prefer we restructure and keep him.

I’m not a fan of moving on from really good players in hopes of acquiring really good players.

Totally agree with Feltdizz. We aquired a good chess piece in Haden, He's a keeper.

[Ernie]

Hopefully they restructure him and allow him to retire a Steeler. We will not find his equal in free agency or the draft this year.... and defense is not an area we can afford to regress at any position.

[phillyesq]

I would prefer we restructure and keep him.

I’m not a fan of moving on from really good players in hopes of acquiring really good players.

Agree. If the Steelers release Haden, he saves $8 million against the cap, but creates a big dead money hit of $3.8 million. A restructure without an extension would be hard because you'd shift more money into next year and end up with him having a $15 million cap number in 2019 or an $8 million dollar dead money hit.

An extension of a year or 2, with a lot of this year's salary shifted to a bonus, could be an easy way to lower his cap hit.

If you look at the numbers on games Haden played vs those he didn't, there was a huge difference. I'd rather keep Haden in the fold - he brought some certainty and reliabiliy to the secondary.

[birtikidis]

I read yesterday that Haden has agreed to take a pay cut. I think it was on Steelersdepot but can't remember where.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I doubt the steelers cut him but the question becomes is he 9 million dollars better than cam sutton. Haden had a good but nowhere near great season and is not a #1 corner in this league anymore

decent starter and not much else. if Sutton can be that, then there is a discussion to be had

[Ernie]

I doubt the steelers cut him but the question becomes is he 9 million dollars better than cam sutton. Haden had a good but nowhere near great season and is not a #1 corner in this league anymore

decent starter and not much else. if Sutton can be that, then there is a discussion to be had

I thought he was having a great season prior to breaking his leg.... and (as has been discussed on here previously) he meant a lot more to the secondary than just his physical ability. Simply stated, JH made everyone around him better through his leadership. JH was BY FAR the best CB on our team this year, and will not be replaced via the draft or free agency. Although I believe Cam Sutton has a bright future on this team, Haden absolutely needs to be restructured and retained.

[Starlifter]

We have to keep him. I look at last year's performance under the prism that the first half of the season he was learning to get in sync with the rest of the team, the second half he was recovering from a broken leg - and despite those two rather significant factors, had a strong year. I think a second healthy year will show him to be even better than what we've already seen.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

i wouldn't say great, but he was the best CB we had. finished the season with 20 tackles, around 6 PD, and 1 int.

also has never played a full season in his career. he's not going anywhere, most likely but the $$ is significant.

if Sutton can play, he needs to get on the field. maybe he takes burns spot if artie struggles again

[Ernie]

i wouldn't say great, but he was the best CB we had. finished the season with 20 tackles, around 6 PD, and 1 int.

also has never played a full season in his career. he's not going anywhere, most likely but the $$ is significant.

if Sutton can play, he needs to get on the field. maybe he takes burns spot if artie struggles again

He was pretty well "Lock down" as far as I'm concerned.... to the point that opposing QBs went away from him. Having Haden also allowed Artie to stay on his side.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

we will have to disagree then as i didnt see a lockdown corner

[feltdizz]

He was pretty well "Lock down" as far as I'm concerned.... to the point that opposing QBs went away from him. Having Haden also allowed Artie to stay on his side.

He was lock down until he played zone. He struggled in the zone a few times but overall he was a pretty impressive #1 CB.


Teams didnt throw to his side that much in man (at least that’s who it appeared) and I think it’s also why Burns was burned more often.

Why go at Haden when you can pick on Burns?

I say restructure and keep him.

[Ernie]

we will have to disagree then as i didnt see a lockdown corner

Everyone on this board (other than maybe yourself) sees him as a solid #1, and BY FAR the best CB currently on the roster.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

and everyone on this board has a tendency to overrate steelers players at times

Haden is a #1 for us because we don't have much at CB,IMO