Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden is reportedly on the trade block. NFL insider Jason La Canfora went as far to say the Browns are “aggressively trying to trade him” because they are “very motivated to move his contract.”
Naturally, there’s been some buzz among Eagles fans as to whether their favorite team should pursue Haden.
So, should they?
No. The Eagles should not trade for Joe Haden.
Just look at the picture above this post where he’s getting torched by ... Nelson Agholor.
OK, so that’s not the (only) problem with wanting to acquiring Haden. There’s also the fact he has a base salary of $11.1 million this season.
The Eagles currently have $12.5 million in cap space. They could trade for Haden if they wanted to do that. But they probably don’t. The Eagles should want to hold on to that money so they can roll it over to next year. Philadelphia is currently only projected to have $195,806 in cap space next offseason. That number will go up with some veteran cap casualties, but the Eagles will still need their rollover money from this year in order to re-sign players like Alshon Jeffery, Tim Jernigan, and Nigel Bradham plus extend young players such as Jordan Hicks and/or Ronald Darby.
Haden, who turns 29 after this season, doesn’t figure to be a long-term solution at cornerback for the Eagles. Comments from Browns fans over at Dawgs By Nature indicate he’s not the same player he once was at his best. For what it’s worth, Haden ranked 88th out of 110 corners graded by Pro Football Focus last year. Opposing quarterbacks had a 97.7 passer rating when targeting Haden, which ranked 71st at his position.
The Eagles are far from being “set” at cornerback. But there’s some optimism for the position. Ronald Darby, 23, has shown some real nice flashes since the Eagles traded for him. Eagles coaches have raved about the offseason Jalen Mills, 23, has had. Jim Schwartz praised the second-year defensive back on Monday without even being prompted to do so.
I think it is also you can't not say Jalen Mills when you talk about [Patrick Robinson playing the slot] because Jalen has been so consistent for us at corner in the camp and the pre-season games, that that has allowed us to have flexibility. It's not just bringing in Darby, it's Jalen being so consistent out there. That's helped out
Rookie corner Rasul Douglas, 22, doesn’t look ready to start but he’s shown potential. Sidney Jones, 21, was supposed to be a first round pick before he suffered an Achilles injury.
There’s no guarantee any or all of these players will pan out for the Eagles. But for now they’re young, talented, and worth developing.
Giving up an asset and taking on Haden’s big contract doesn’t make sense for Philadelphia.