Cornerback Joe Haden signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a member of the Cleveland Browns. A plan that’s been in the works for months, Haden officially retired from the NFL today going out with the team that drafted him and the club he spent a decade with.
The Browns’ Twitter account shared this video of Haden signing his contract with the team.
Interestingly, according to the league’s transaction sheet, Haden was actually temporarily signed to the team’s 53 man roster with the Browns waiving DB Herb Miller to make room on the roster. Typically, these ceremonious retirements don’t actually involve the player being added to the active/inactive roster. But the Browns, for whatever reason, chose to.
Haden ends his career where it started. Drafted 7th overall in 2010, Haden spent seven years in Cleveland as one of the team’s bright spots through some very dark seasons. He never played in a postseason game with Cleveland but was still productive, picking off six passes as a rookie and becoming a solid NFL corner. He was also a quality tackler and one of the league’s top run defending cornerbacks.
The Browns released him shortly before the 2017 season and the Steelers quickly moved in to sign him to a large contract – by Pittsburgh’s standards – in time for Week One. Haden spent five years with Pittsburgh, starting 67 games and intercepting ten passes, none more famous than his INT on Tom Brady to finally beat him and the Patriots. Haden became a free agent after the 2021 season and despite light interest around the league, he decided to hang up his cleats and spend more time with family.
While Haden and the Steelers made the playoffs three separate times, they never won a postseason game. Haden missed the 2020 Wild Card game against his former team the Browns as Cleveland netted an upset victory. Haden’s career ends with zero postseason victories but on a personal level, he was one of the better corners of his era.
In total, Haden appeared in 158 games (148 starts) with 615 tackles with 29 interceptions and two pick-sixes.
