Steelers letting CB Joe Haden walk in 2022

Sep 03, 2021

The Pittsburgh Steelers and CB Joe Haden have NOT reached an agreement on a long-term extension thus making him a UFA at the end of the year. Haden originally signed a 3-year, $27M with PIT, one day after being released from the division rival Cleveland Browns. In 2019, Haden extended that deal by inking a two-year, $22M extension via 2021.

During that span, Haden has only had one Pro Bowl berth to show (2019) as an injury replacement for CB Marcus Peters. But I don’t place too much stock in the household name year-end contest as I do my grading system.

BWF Grading system

In my grading system, Haden endured a down season in 2020 from his previous 2019 campaign. In 2019, Haden played at a Pro Bowl level. He was targeted 66 times, 33 of those being completions (50%) for 382 passing yards, 2 TDs, 5 INTs, and 12 PBUs. The five interceptions and 12 pass breakups led the team during regular-season play.

To peel back layers of the onion to get to the core, 20 of those 33 completions resulted in first-downs (61%) while limiting the big play of 20+ yards, yielding only one all season. When you add that body of work altogether you get a QB Passer Rating allowed of 46.4, which ranked 2nd-best on the team, only behind first-team All-Pro FS Minkah Fitzpatrick’s QB passer rating of 0.

Haden was as fundamentally sound as any boundary CB in 2019 and should’ve been a Pro Bowl lock, NOT an alternate (sorry Peters). However, 2020 was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

In 2020, Haden was targeted 75 times, 36 of those being completions (48%) for 598 passing yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, and 9 PBUs. The nine pass breakups led the team for the consecutive season. However, he yielded 47 yards of hidden yardage which also paced the team.

In my grading system, hidden yardage is field position yielded based on penalties. Haden gave up the following: Week 1 vs Giants (PI+12), Week 2 vs Broncos (PI+4), Week 5 vs Eagles (PI+26), and Week 6 vs Browns (illegal contact+5).

If that wasn’t bad enough, Haden gave up 25 first-downs (T-1st) on the team with CB Steven Nelson while ranking 2nd worst in yielding 20+ big plays (9), only Nelson had given up more (10). If you would like to see my full analysis on CB Steven Nelson head over to my YouTube channel below.

But back to Haden.

The analytics speak for themselves. After yielding a stingy 46.4 QBPR in 2019, Haden’s QBPR allowed ballooned to 77.5.

GM Kevin Colbert making the right call:

The signing indicates that GM Kevin Colbert is prioritizing securing his 1st-team All-Pro talents, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick & OLB T.J. Watt over an aging veteran like Haden, 32.

Both Fitzpatrick and Watt will RESET the market at their respective positions while Watt is going to be the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. You can see my full analysis on Fitzpatrick by heading over to my YouTube channel below:

Drew Rosenhaus (Agent for Haden) said: “Joe has never been a UFA before and is excited about that opportunity. We expect him to have a very strong market."

Bottom Line:

Haden, 32, and his decline in my grading system are good reasons why PIT should let him walk. There is not enough money to go around and if you're building the nucleus of your team from the inside/out, re-signing players like Watt should be the top priority, no matter what the cost, as a strong front seven, sets the tone for better play on the backend.

What are your thoughts Steelers Nation? LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE!!!!!

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