Steelers To Sign CB Joe Haden
The Steelers are expected to sign cornerback Joe Haden to a three-year, $27MM deal that includes $7MM in 2017, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That $7MM figure also represents the contract’s guarantee, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Haden will stay in the AFC North and land with Pittsburgh despite receiving larger offers from other clubs, tweets Schefter, who adds that Haden wanted to be a Steeler. A number of other teams, including the Dolphins, Eagles, Saints, Chiefs, Cowboys, and 49ers also expressed interest in Haden, but the Pittsburgh had been considered the favorite to ink the former Browns cornerback.
The Steelers ranked 12th in DVOA against the pass a season ago, but the club’s secondary was still missing a clear-cut No. 1 cornerback. It’s not clear that Haden fits that definition anymore, as he graded as the No. 88 corner among 110 qualifiers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. Injuries were likely a factor in his decreased production, but health isn’t a guarantee for Haden, who’s missed 14 games over the past two seasons.
Before releasing him earlier today, Cleveland offered to reduce Haden’s pay from $11MM to $7MM, per Rapoport (Twitter link), and Haden will now earn that same total with the Steelers. Haden’s deal contained offset language, so the Browns are not on the hook for the $4MM in guaranteed base salary it owes to the 28-year-old cornerback.
Pittsburgh now boasts a relatively deep defensive backfield, as Haden joins a unit that also includes Ross Cockrell, Artie Burns, William Gay, Senquez Golson, Cameron Sutton, and Coty Sensabaugh.
Steelers To Host CB Joe Haden Tonight
The Steelers are already considered the frontrunners for cornerback Joe Haden, and they’ll meet with the free agent himself tonight, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Pittsburgh isn’t the only NFL club eyeing Haden, who was released by the Browns this morning, as the Chiefs, Saints, Eagles, 49ers, and Dolphins are also interested in adding the 28-year-old. Cleveland is already paying Haden a guaranteed $4MM for the 2017 season, meaning any that signs the veteran defensive back will only be responsible for the minimum. However, given the level of interest that Haden has already generated, it’s possible that he could garner a hefty deal. He’s reportedly open to both single-season and multi-year pacts.
The Steelers are currently slated to start Ross Cockrell and Artie Burns at cornerback, with William Gay, Senquez Golson, Cameron Sutton, Coty Sensabaugh, and others vying for time as depth options. That group is without a clear-cut No. 1 cornerback, although it’s not apparent that Haden fits that definition anymore, as he graded as the No. 88 corner among 110 qualifiers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. And if Pittsburgh is looking for reliability, it may not get it with Haden, who’s missed 14 games over the past two seasons.
Technically, Haden can’t speak or meet with any other clubs until he’s officially released by the Browns at 4pm ET today.
Le'Veon Bell Reporting Friday To Avoid Going On Exempt List
- Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell will end his holdout Friday specifically to avoid landing on the roster exempt list, Florio reports. If Bell were to show up after cuts occur Saturday, the Steelers would be able to place the franchise-tagged star on the list for up to two weeks and pay him a lesser salary than his $711K game check during that period. It’s unlikely Pittsburgh would’ve done that, per Florio, but Bell will remove the possibility by showing up before cutdown day.
Steelers Favorites For CB Joe Haden
The Steelers have emerged as a “possible contender” for free agent cornerback Joe Haden, whom the Browns released earlier today, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (Twitter link). In fact, Pittsburgh is considered the “favorite” to land Haden, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
[RELATED: Steelers Acquire TE Vance McDonald]
While Pittsburgh boasts a number of intriguing young options in their secondary, the club’s pass defense lacks a true No. 1 cornerback at present. Of course, it’s not apparent that Haden fits that definition anymore, as he graded as the No. 88 corner among 110 qualifiers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. And if the Steelers are looking for reliability, they won’t get it with Haden, who’s missed 14 games over the past two seasons.
But the Steelers apparently believe Haden still has production left to over: per Kinkhabwala, Haden has number of advocates in Pittsburgh, including wide receiver Antonio Brown. Plus, Haden should come on the cheap, as he’s already guaranteed to earn $4MM from the Browns. Haden’s contract included offsets, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, so the Steelers (or any other club) will only be responsible for a minimum salary if they sign Haden for fewer than $4MM.
Pittsburgh is slated to start Ross Cockrell and Artie Burns at cornerback, with William Gay, Senquez Golson, Cameron Sutton, Coty Sensabaugh, and others vying for time as depth options.
Steelers Make Three Moves
Pittsburgh Steelers
49ers Trade TE Vance McDonald To Steelers
The 49ers have traded tight end Vance McDonald to the Steelers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. San Francisco receives a 2018 fourth-round pick in the swap while the Steelers get a fifth-round choice back in return.
McDonald was projected to be the Niners’ starter at tight end this year. Now, they’ll turn to fifth-round rookie George Kittle and veterans Garrett Celek and Logan Paulsen to fill the void.
The Niners signed McDonald to a five-year, $35MM extension in December, but the new regime is not as wild about him as the old one was. New GM John Lynch shopped McDonald during the 2017 draft and was surprisingly candid about it when reports surfaced.
“That’s the reality of new regimes coming in, new schemes,” Lynch in April. “That’s not to say he can’t fit into our scheme. Frankly we received some interest from other people, then we did explore some options throughout the league with Vance. And nothing ended up happening, so Vance will come back and have an opportunity to compete.”
The Steelers tried to shake up the tight end position last year by signing Ladarius Green, but things did not go according to plan as he was hampered by injuries and concussions. This year, they’ve were planning to use Jesse James as their primary TE with support from David Johnson and Xavier Grimble. They weren’t completely satisfied with that bunch, however, and they capitalized on an opportunity add another experienced starter.
McDonald finished the 2016 on IR, but he closed out with a career-high 24 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t league-leading material, but it’s impressive that he was able to get going at all in one of the league’s worst passing attacks. We’re about to find out what McDonald is capable of doing in one of the league’s top aerial offenses.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/27/17
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Tank Carder (torn ACL), OL Matt McCants
- Waived/injured: S Justin Currie
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Derrick Lott
- Placed on IR: DT Jordan Hill
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived from IR: CB Charles Gaines
New England Patriots
- Waived: DE Caleb Kidder
- Waived/injured: TE Matt Lengel
New York Giants
- Claimed off waviers: CB Tay Glover-Wright
- Waived from IR: DE Evan Schwan, WR Kevin Snead
New York Jets
- Waived/injured: DT Anthony Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: C Ruben Carter, WR Justin Thomas
- Waived/injured: CB Greg Ducre
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived from IR: TE Marcus Lucas
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from IR: DB Maurice Fleming
Steelers, OT Marcus Gilbert Discussing Deal
The Steelers have discussed offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert‘s contract with agent Drew Rosenhaus, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. However, those talks are “exploratory” in nature given that Gilbert is currently signed through the 2019 season, per Fowler.
Gilbert, 29, agreed to a five-year, $30MM extension prior to the 2014 campaign — he’s already reworked that deal twice, including just before the 2016 season, when he agreed to convert a portion of his base salary into a signing bonus in order to create cap space for the Steelers. At present, Gilbert has cap charges north of $6.5MM in each of the next three years, including ~$7.3MM for the upcoming season.
“Of course, as a player you like to say you don’t look at the [contractual] numbers — saying that is complete BS,” Gilbert tells Fowler. “But at the same time, you have to go play like you’re worth it. Until they reward you, you have to continue to show that. My thing is, as long as I want to continue to be here, I have to do whatever it is on the field to get better and better every year. That’s my whole focus, just being here, being the best right tackle in the game.”
Gilbert is one of the league’s best right tackles, at least in the opinion of Pro Football Focus, which graded Gilbert as the NFL’s No. 11 tackle among 76 total qualifiers. A former second-round pick, Gilbert has started 75 games over six seasons in Pittsburgh, and last year helped the Steelers offensive line finish third in adjusted line yards and fourth in adjusted sack rate, both Football Outsiders metrics.
Sammie Coates On Roster Bubble
- Several backups complemented Antonio Brown for the Steelers in the AFC championship game last season as injuries and unavailability mounted, and they’re almost all on the roster bubble now. Sammie Coates and Darrius Heyward-Bey are not locks to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes. Coates, Heyward-Bey, Justin Hunter, Cobi Hamilton and Demarcus Ayers are fighting for the final two spots — behind Brown, Martavis Bryant, Eli Rogers and JuJu Smith-Schuster, per Fittipaldo. The Steelers started Ayers, Hamilton and Heyward-Bey at least once apiece in their three-game playoff sojourn last season, but now that they are deeper, won’t need some of these players to return. Coates not being given a third year would be notable for the 2015 third-round pick, who’s been inconsistent, but the remainder of these players mostly saw action due to higher-level performers’ unavailability in 2016.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/17
Today’s minor moves:
- The Steelers waived cornerback Antonio Crawford just one day after signing him. Crawford was a college teammate of Pittsburgh corner Artie Burns at the University of Miami, before transferring to West Virginia. The reasons for Crawford’s quick in-and-out are not clear, but the culprit is often a failed physical in cases like these.
- The Giants signed safety Tim Scott, who was waived by Washington last week. Scott was not on an NFL roster last year but he did start 45 of 50 games in his time at the University of North Carolina.
- The Saints waived waived wide receiver Xavier Rush and fullback John Robinson-Woodgett. Rush, a Tulane product, leaves the Saints after less than two weeks with the team. Some were surprised by his release given the way he had performed in practice. Robinson-Woodgett will try to make a late push as a reserve fullback, but he faces long odds of making the cut on September 2.
- The Cardinals waived cornerback Daniel Gray. He originally joined the team on June 6 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Utah State.