Recent reports have surfaced that Joe Haden is seeking an extension from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has also been open about wanting the extension publicly, but knows the current priority is T.J. Watt's contract situation, something he wants to see finalized too.
Since being released by the Cleveland Browns just before the start of the 2017 season (lol), Haden has signed two different contracts with the Steelers and has been their #1 cornerback for the past four seasons. He will also continue to hold that title as the start of the 2021 NFL season approaches.
Haden (32) is entering his 12th season in the league, and while it is risky handing out contracts to cornerbacks reaching this age range, the Steelers likely need to try and get this done. Haden has yet to show signs of slowing down, but a 1-2 year extension that lets him retire after his 13th or 14th season in the NFL would make sense for both he and the Steelers.
His current contract is a two-year extension he signed in 2019, and is a two-year $22,400,000 deal that included a $16,800,000 signing bonus. As with almost all Steelers contracts, the signing bonus was the only guaranteed money in the deal.
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Unlike many of the other contracts they have done this offseason, I don't think an extension for Haden would necessarily need to improve their cap situation much this season. They're already in a much better situation in terms of the salary cap than any season in recent memory with over $12 million in cap space remaining.
So what could a potential extension look like? Here are my thoughts.
The potential extension would likely be very similar to the deal that the Steelers gave Haden in 2019, but maybe not as high of an initial signing bonus. Something along the lines of a two-year $23 million extension with an $8 million signing bonus should work for both sides.
An extension along those lines would basically lock him into a roster spot for the 2022 season, and allows the Steelers/Haden the option of determining on a potential 2023 season as well down the road. It would have no guaranteed money in 2022 or 2023, but would have a decent amount of dead cap space if Haden were not on the team next season and relatively low dead cap if they parted ways in 2023.
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Most likely the Steelers are going to be flush with cap space in 2023, as Ben Roethlisberger is very likely to be retired by then unfortunately. This allows them flexibility to keep Haden for the 2023 season at a number that will make Haden happy, assuming he wants to keep playing and playing at a high level, without killing the Steelers available cap space.
Overall, there is almost no reason why the Steelers shouldn't give Haden some sort of extension at the moment. He is still playing at a high level, is a leader in the secondary and on the team, and he is one of the most loved players by SteelerNation. There are some slight concerns due to him being 32, but until he shows signs of declining play, it is hard to argue with making Haden a Steeler for the rest of his career.
Do you think the Steelers should give Haden an extension? Let us know below!
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