Three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden has not been a big name during NFL free agency. That’s primarily due to his advanced age of 32 and the fact that Haden struggled for the Pittsburgh Steelers a season ago.
Even then, there’s a number of teams who should be interested in his services. The Florida product is just a couple seasons removed from earning a Pro Bowl spot and could provide veteran leadership in the secondary. Below, we look at four ideal landing spots for Haden during the second wave of free agency.
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Denver Broncos add Joe Haden to the mix
Denver is set at one corner spot with stud youngster Patrick Surtain II. However, there’s some depth concerns with both Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan currently on the free-agent market. While the Broncos have interest in re-signing Callahan, he’s more of your traditional slot guy.
That’s where Haden would come in opposite Surtain as someone to compete with fellow veteran Ronald Darby. At the very least, he’d be the first cornerback off the bench behind Darby. Having gone all in by acquiring the likes of Russell Wilson and Randy Gregory, cornerback is now one of the few major needs for a championship-contending Broncos squad.
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San Francisco 49ers sign Joe Haden
San Francisco did well to sign former Kansas City Chiefs star Charvarius Ward in free agency. It was the team’s one big-ticket move with limited cap space while expensive quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the books. A legit Super Bowl contender, the 49ers need more depth at corner. After all, we saw how the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Cooper Kupp dominated this unit in the NFC Championship Game.
- Joe Haden stats (QB rating allowed past four seasons): 72.0, 66.5, 75.9, 100.1
As you can see, Haden took a major step back with Pittsburgh a season ago. Hence, why he’s still around on the secondary market. Even then, he’d make perfect sense for the cash-strapped 49ers. He’s a better bet to stay healthy than curent 49ers free agent Jason Verrett and would be a dramatic upgade from last season’s iteration of Josh Norman.
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Buffalo Bills add veteran reinforcement in Joe Haden
Right now, Dane Jackson would likely start opposite All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White in Western New York after the Bills lost Levi Wallace in free ageny. Sure Buffalo could make another big-time splash by signing someone like Stephon Gilmore, but that seems unlikely following the signing of Von Miller.
- Buffalo Bills defensive stats (2021): 56% completion, 3,040 yards, 12 TD, 19 INT, 65.3 QB rating
While Buffalo did indeed have the best pass defense in the NFL last season, this unit struggled big time in the team’s AFC Divisional Playoff loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The idea here would be to find more depth and a veteran asset in the defensive secondary.
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Los Angeles Rams add another big name
Despite the Rams remaining very much active on the NFL free agent market, the loss of starting cornerback Darious Williams is going to hurt. They don’t have a pick in the first two rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft to upgrade opposite Jalen Ramsey. Los Angeles is also about as cash-strapped as they get at this point in the offseason.
Adding Joe Haden to the mix to compete with David Long at one of the corner spots just makes too much sense. He’s the type of veteran general manager Les Snead needs to target in order to fill out the Rams’ depth chart moving forward and defend their championship.