Joe Haden Reiterates Desire to Stay with Steelers, No Progress on New Deal

PITTSBURGH — Joe Haden wants to remain in Pittsburgh beyond the end of the 2021 season, but said there has been no news regarding a potential contact extension.

Haden, 32, is entering his fifth season with the Steelers after spending the first seven years of his NFL with the Cleveland Browns, and suffice to say, the veteran cornerback knows the grass elsewhere isn’t always greener.

“I obviously want to stay here,” Haden said. “Just the organization, the staff, Coach T. I don’t have too much more on it, but you know what I want.”

Haden will make $7 million and count for $15.575 million against the Steelers’ 2021 salary cap obligations in the final year of a two-year extension that he signed with the team back in 2019.

The Steelers could use an extension to push some of Haden’s 2021 salary into future seasons, but that would also require locking up a defensive back that is getting to be a bit long in the tooth.

Haden says that he feels as fresh and capable physically as he did when he got to Pittsburgh, though he admits maybe he’s not the same player he was 10 years ago.

Head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about Haden’s fitness, and he said that if Haden feels as fast as he was five years ago, “then I believe him.”