'The city embraced me': Joe Haden gets one more chance to feel Browns fans' love

CLEVELAND − Joe Haden looks like he still has a few snaps at cornerback left in his body. So, would the 33-year-old have any interest in helping the Browns' secondary against the Cincinnati Bengals' Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd?

"That's why I'm ending my career," Haden said with a big smile during a press conference Saturday. "I don't feel like covering those dudes honestly."

Instead, Haden will be given another chance to bask in the adoration of a city in which he embraced almost instantly after being the No. 7 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He was honored during Monday night's game against the Bengals after having signed a one-day contract so that he could retire with the team he spent the first seven years of his career.

Haden was the game's Dawg Pound Captain. Right before kickoff, he took a guitar and smashed it against a pyrotechnic device.

Haden was also given a video tribute with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

That embrace is why it was important for Haden to finish his career − even if its just in a ceremonial way − with the Cleveland Browns. It's the thing, more than anything else, the Florida native takes away from his time in Northeast Ohio.

"I came here, I was just fresh, 21 years old, didn't have any kids, wasn't married at the time, and just the city embraced me and showed me so much love," said Haden, who was courtside for Sunday night's Cavaliers game. "… I just grew up here and this was a spot that showed me so much love and I kind of wanted to reciprocate that love. It just finally feels like where I grew up and it's the place where I wanted to end my career."

Haden's journey to that end was a winding one if nothing else. He blossomed into a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback in Cleveland, as well as a prominent fixture in the stands for both of the other two pro sports teams' in town's games.

If there was any knock on Haden over his seven years with the Browns, it was availability, especially late in his tenure. Over his final two seasons, he missed 14 out of a possible 32 games due to injuries, including 11 in 2015.

That led to a stunning end late in the 2017 preseason when Haden was released. Like that, his time in Cleveland, a place he played 90 games and had 19 interceptions, was over.

"Oh man, that was a tough day, just walking around, a lot of the people that are here now were here during that day and they were like, 'Joe, I remember, it feels like it was yesterday, you being back here, just bringing your wife and your kids, like you've got two little boys with you,'" Haden recalled. "But that was a time where I never thought I would be playing for a different team but here, but when I get that call and they really told me that they were going to release me, it was a humbling experience and then it kind of just put the whole NFL is a business into perspective in my eyes because there's no way I'm not going to be playing for the Browns."

Eyes wide open, Haden didn't spend too much time on the open market. In fact, he barely spent any time there.

That's because, almost as soon as Haden became available, he found the perfect landing for him, especially considering the circumstances. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Haden would spend the final five seasons of his career with the Steelers, starting 67 of the 68 games he played there and intercepting 10 passes. He earned his third Pro Bowl appearance in 2019.

"That was one, when you know you've got some ball left you and injuries, that's the crazy part about the league, when you're six years in people are starting to get like, 'Man, is this dude injury prone?,'" Haden said. "So being able to go five more years and being able to play and have that longevity, it felt good for me to be able to still go out there because I knew I still had good ball in me."

Haden didn't need to wait too long to return to Northeast Ohio. The Steelers opened the 2017 in Cleveland, and Haden was in the starting lineup wearing black and gold.

On the field, Haden had a solid game, recording six combined tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. Off it, he found that many in the city that had embraced him had turned on him.

"It was different, especially from the way the city loves and embraces their team and I have no hard feelings," Haden said. "I think the hardest part was my first game coming here and getting booed so hard. It is what it is, I definitely didn't expect to get the loudest cheers but that was one of the things, it is a business, so I've got to do what I've got to do, but at the same time I understand exactly where they were coming from."

It's why, even after five years in Pittsburgh in which he never experienced a losing season, Haden's heart remains with the city where he never finished with a winning season over seven years. It's why, when he walked back into the Browns' facility on Saturday morning, it was so many good memories that rushed through his mind first.

The reason for that is as simple as a warm embrace.

It was the fact that during the times, you have a lot of fans that if you lose they're not going to like you, but the understanding of the effort that you give," Haden said. "They love the Joe Thomases, they love the D'Qwell Jacksons, the guys that at the end of the day even if you aren't winning, you're giving your all, trying your best, you're being a professional, you're being a professional about your job. So I think the respect of them understanding, like, it might not be the coaching staff, but it's not like your effort, so understanding that they had love and respected what we were doing made me feel like I can dig it, I can feel you."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterling ABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Joe Haden gets one more chance to feel Browns fans' love Monday night