Until they’re actually competitive or win a real football game, the Cleveland Browns will continue to be the butt of jokes around the football world. That apparently now includes former members of the team.
In the lead up to his Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Divisional Playoff matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, former Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden took time to shade his former team. It also included throwing a pretty big shot in the direction of Brock Osweiler.
“They were going to pay Brock Osweiler $16 million and he’s not even on the team, and they wanted to cut money from me,” Haden said, via MMQB’s Greg Bishop.
The veteran is not necessarily wrong here. The Browns did in fact ask him to take a pay cut before releasing the former first-round pick this past summer. At the same time, the team had just dealt for Osweiler and his huge contract. While Cleveland did acquire a second-round pick to take the quarterback’s contract off the hands of the Texans, it still seemed to be a slap in the face.
This isn’t the first time Haden has criticized his former team. It likely won’t be the last, especially with him in the midst of a multi-year deal with the Browns’ division rivals.
It’s interesting to look at. Since the Browns released Haden, he caught on with a team that has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. The Browns themselves are coming off just the second 0-16 regular season in NFL history. And Osweiler has since moved on to the Denver Broncos — redefining what it means to be a horrible quarterback in the league.
Haden may still have some hard feelings. But he can overcome them rather quickly by leading Pittsburgh to a Lombardi Trophy, all the while Cleveland enters the offseason having won one game since December of 2015.