Daily Dawg Tags: Joe Haden and more revisionist history

The Cleveland Browns find themselves in a familiar situation as another former player spins a yarn about why he is no longer a member of the team.

The Cleveland Browns have followed a familiar path in recent years during the offseason.

The team closes out a disappointing season, releases some players who contributed to the disappointment, does some positive (and puzzling) things on draft night, and then when the following season rolls around people lament about the “ones who got away.”

That scenario got an early jump this week with some revisionist history about former Browns cornerback Joe Haden, who was released prior to the start of the season when he declined to accept a pay cut and play for a salary more in line with his decline in play.

In a story by Greg Bishop at Monday Morning Quarterback about Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, Haden and Pittsburgh safety Mike Mitchell decided it was an opportune time to take a shot at the Browns.

Mitchell got the ball rolling by making the claim that “top 10 cornerbacks” don’t often hit the market in September. Haden piled on by parroting a faulty premise as to why the Browns released him:

"“They were going to pay Brock Osweiler $16 million and he’s not even on the team [after being signed and cut this summer], and they wanted to cut money from me!”)"

Of course, Osweiler’s contract likely had nothing to do with Haden being released for the simple fact that the Browns had more than enough cap space to cover it. The Browns simply did what every other NFL team does in the same situation: they asked a veteran player to take a pay cut. Haden, as is his right, said no and was granted his release. (And the idea that head coach Hue Jackson or defensive coordinator Gregg Williams were not on board is laughable.)

As for Mitchell’s claim that Haden is a “top 10 cornerback,” well, Haden was a good cornerback when he was healthy, which was in 2014, but he was never a top 10 cornerback.

As for this year, the Browns didn’t really miss Haden all that much, at least according to the rankings at Pro Football Focus, which has Haden with a grade of 75.5, making him the 68th ranked cornerback in the league. As far as the players the Browns kept over Haden, Jason McCourty checked in at 83.9 (No. 28), Briean Boddy-Calhoun graded out at 84.5 (No. 21) and Jamar Taylor finished at 73.1 (No. 74).

That’s all in the past now, as the Steelers are preparing for a playoff game this weekend and the Browns are busy being the Browns.

But if things go right in the coming months, people may actually start focusing more on who actually plays for the Browns, rather than what their formers players are up to.

Cleveland Browns news:

Browns wide receivers: Stay or go in 2018?

The Cleveland Browns have several roster decisions to make for 2018, with the wide receivers deserving a hard look.

Browns sign defensive lineman Collin Bevins to futures deal

The Cleveland Browns added another player to their reserve/futures list on Tuesday, signing a deal with defensive lineman Collin Bevins.

Joe Schobert knows he is an NFL starter (clevelandbrowns.com)

"When Joe Schobert was named a Pro Bowl alternate last month, the Browns linebacker shrugged off the honor but also acknowledged he must be doing something right to receive such attention."

Eliot Wolf also has an offer from the Raiders (cleveland.com)

"Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf, who’s interviewing with Browns GM John Dorsey today in Cleveland, also has an offer to join new head coach Jon Gruden and GM Reggie McKenzie in Oakland, according to a report."

NFL news:

Breaking down Texans’ general manager candidates (Houston Chronicle)

"The Houston Texans already have interviewed two candidates for their open general manager spot. Owner Bob McNair has said he hopes to interview “four to six candidates” and have the position filled “within two weeks.”"

Player the Broncos should covet in NFL draft is Saquon Barkley (Denver Post)

"Quarterback is the No. 1 priority for the Denver Broncos. So John Elway had better find one before the NFL draft. Why? Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is the quickest way back to the playoffs."

Raiders owner Mark Davis is all in on Jon Gruden (Mercury News)

"Mark Davis called Tuesday the biggest day of his life — his “dream come true.” That might seem like hyperbole, but you have to believe the Raiders owner — when you work on something for six years and you finally achieve it, you have every reason to be jubilant."

Packers to hire Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator (ESPN)

"Mike McCarthy liked the idea of having a former head coach as his defensive coordinator when he hired Dom Capers in 2009. Nine years later, he has the same thing in Mike Pettine."