Breaking down the potential of Joe Haden signing with the Vikings…

After almost a year’s worth of attempting to deal him to another team through trade, news broke early this morning that the Cleveland Browns have cut ties and released former top-line cornerback Joe Haden.

While teams across the NFL are scouring their rosters and looking for needs up and down, the Vikings won’t be the only team to sniff around Joe Haden today. His agent Drew Rosenhaus has already been quoted saying that here is a “ton of interest” and Haden will have a new team by tomorrow at the very latest. The Vikings have a depth need at cornerback that could be solved with the addition of a guy like Haden, but is he worth it anymore?

Haden was due upwards of $7.7 million from the Browns this season but the consensus throughout the league is that Haden has suffered a dramatic drop off over the past few seasons. A Pro Bowler in 2013 & 2014, for one reason or another Haden’s performance has been steadily dropping ever since. Once dubbed the “Iron-Haden” he might be earning something more like a “rusty-iron” nickname. Most recently, ProFootballFocus has ranked Haden as the 88th best cornerback throughout the entire league. Gang, that ain’t good.

Sure there were some lingering concussions and nagging injuries in there but when he’s been healthy it wasn’t all that great.

Still, there could be arguments made that some of the struggle comes from a broken spirit. Stuck on a team that might have had promise when he signed a big contract, has continued to do what the Browns do so regularly, lose and lose often. It begins to look hopeless, your zeal fades, your energy is zonked, your spirit is broken…and then you go home and relax at your million dollar mansion. It’s not all bad for Haden and I’m not sure you want to use “broken spirit” as an excuse as there are negative connotations that come with that as well. Still, I could understand the potential of him finding a “good fit” with another team that suits his needs and has a chance to win, and abracadabra he starts to find his mojo again! It wouldn’t shock me.

The Vikings presently have $9.77 million in cap space and it’s expected that they’ll tack on another $3 million clearing space with Jarius Wright. They get Haden for somewhere in the $6 million range and your depth changes to Rhodes, Haden, Waynes, Newman and so on. That sounds a whole lot better to me.

What do you think? Cast a vote in the poll below to sound off…

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