Veteran cornerback Joe Haden has announced that he is retiring after 12 seasons in the NFL. Haden made the news official Wednesday morning, and will retire as a Cleveland Brown.
Haden, who turned 33 years of age in April, was originally selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Florida. He was the seventh overall pick that year.
After playing his first four seasons with the Browns as part of 57 games played, Haden signed a five-year contract extension worth $68 million in May of 2014. At that point, he had registered 13 interceptions, 68 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two sacks. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2013 and named Second-Team All-Pro that year as well.
In 2014, Haden played in 15 games on his way to registering three interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 73 combined tackles. That season garnered Haden his second Pro Bowl honor.
Haden played his next two seasons for the Browns but only logged 18 games played in total during that span. He missed most of the 2015 season with a groin injury. After finishing the 2016 season with a total of 48 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts, the Browns decided to release Haden just prior to the 2017 season starting.
The Steelers wasted no time in pursuing Haden, and they instantly signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract at the end of August. In his first two seasons with the Steelers, Haden played in 26 games on his way to registering 83 total tackles combined to go along with a sack, three interceptions, 19 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He only played in 11 games in 2017 due to him suffering a broken fibula.
On September 1, 2019, Haden signed a two-year, $22 million contract extension with the Steelers. He went on to play out his contract through the 2021 season on his way to registering 155 more tackles to go along with seven more interceptions, 35 more passes defensed, two more fumble recoveries and two more forced fumbles. Haden was unable to play in the Steelers’ 2020 Wild Card game against the Browns due to being on the COVID-19 list. He played in 42 regular season games over the course of his final three seasons in Pittsburgh. In 2019, Haden was voted to the Pro Bowl a third time.
Haden retires with 29 career interceptions, with two of those being returned for touchdowns. He also recorded 615 total tackles, with 14 resulting in lost yardage. He was credited with 155 total passes defensed, seven forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and three sacks. He played in 158 regular season games in his 12 NFL years with 148 starts. He played in two playoff games, both with the Steelers, during his NFL career and registered 10 total tackles and a pass defensed in those two postseason contests.
