The Steelers and corner Joe Haden are making progress on a two-year contract extension, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The two sides have exchanged proposals, so a deal might not be far off. 
For now, Haden is due $10MM as he enters the final year of his deal. A new pact would likely lessen Haden’s cap hit, while giving him security through the 2021 season.
After missing time in 2018 with an injury, Haden returned to play 15 games last season. He graded as a top-40 cornerback, per Pro Football Focus. That is a cut below his best Browns seasons, but the 30-year-old defender remains an upper-echelon cover man.
The Steelers added cornerbacks this offseason, signing Steven Nelson and drafting Justin Layne in Round 3. Meanwhile, they’ll move forward with disappointing 2016 first-rounder Artie Burns after cutting him an $800K bonus check over the weekend.
Haden has operated as the team’s No. 1 cornerback since arriving. The Steelers have not enjoyed much consistency aside from Haden at the boundary corner positions for a while, a new deal would make sense.
While the corner market has not moved much at the top in recent years, lesser-acclaimed DBs have signed for $10MM-plus since Haden last put pen to paper. The $9MM-AAV defender will almost certainly target eight figures per year for his early-30s contract.
Good. We need him.
Agree 100%. Some fans might feel that Haden shouldn’t be paid like a “shutdown” corner because he doesn’t grade out great or doesn’t stay healthy, and I get those concerns. But his intangibles as part of the Steeler defense are off the charts, and he’s frankly been very good since Day 1 in Pittsburgh. I hope this gets done, and I hope they move to getting an extension for Hargrave next.
Also agree. And Pro Football Focus rankings are skewed for defensive backs as they elevate people that are consistently picked on by opposing teams and therefore have more stats. Briean Boody-Calhoun is the prime example of this—grades highly, but you don’t want him as a starting corner
Boddy-Calhoun is an excellent example to use, and I even like the guy as a good depth corner… but that’s all he is, a good #3 or #4.
The Steelers should sign him. They will be on defense ALOT next season.
I know. We score so quickly we have to make sure the D is in good shape.