Cleveland Browns: Joe Haden confident he’ll be back Week 1

Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden is confident he’ll be ready for Week 1, which is good news for the team.

The Cleveland Browns do not play a meaningful game for another four months, but they received some positive news on Wednesday about that opening weekend matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Starting cornerback Joe Haden expects to be ready to go and on the field after surgery on his left ankle on March 16.

“I think I’m going to be back definitely for sure not to miss any regular-season time,” Haden said in published reports. “I don’t really know about training camp. That’s the goal, try to get back [for training camp, which starts in late July], but I just know for sure that my whole thing is I’m not missing any games.”

That is good news for a Browns defense that needs all the help it can get, especially in the secondary.

Related: Joe Haden out until training camp

“He’s walking in a shoe now. That boot is gone. He’s not riding on that little trolley thing anymore.” – Hue Jackson on Joe Haden

Haden was limited to just five games in 2015 due to injuries and a pair of concussions and his absence, among other problems, was felt in a major way by a secondary that came into the season expecting to be one of the league’s best. But the Browns fell flat from the opening game of the season in giving up 31 points to the New York Jets, one of nine times they gave up 30 or more points, and never found their footing.

Having Haden back and playing at or near his Pro Bowl level will give the secondary a big boost in a number of ways.

The Browns will have new safeties, including second-year player Ibraheim Campbell, on the field, and the cornerback situation behind Haden and Tramon Williams is filled with the young – Charles Gaines, Pierre Desir and Trey Caldwell – and the disinterested – Justin Gilbert – who can all benefit from Haden’s knowledge of defensive coordinator Ray Horton‘s unique brand of defense.

Related: Cleveland Browns: The 2016 cornerbacks

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Despite last season’s struggles, both personally and as a unit, Haden remains confident the secondary can rebound this fall.

“I think our secondary is a sleeper right now, but I feel like we can be special,” he said. “With Ibraheim Campbell, people don’t really pay attention to him as much. He’s a really, really smart player. Like Coach said, we’ve got Jordan Poyer, we brought in Rahim Moore. It’s just opportunities and competition, and that’s going to bring out the best in people with myself, Tramon Williams, Justin Gilbert and K’Waun Williams.

“I think K’Waun, honestly, is one of the best nickels in the league, just being able to put hands on people and do his job as far as blitzing and handling the slots. I think we’re going to be able to surprise a lot of people, No. 1, because we’ve got a lot to prove. It’s just all grind. We feel like a lot of people are counting us out. That chip is what’s going to make us a whole lot better this season.”