3 trade candidates Steelers could ship away before the NFL trade deadline

CB Joe Haden

It seems to be set in stone that the Steelers will not bring back Joe Haden next year. Joe Haden would draw some interest from contenders if he was publicly made available for trade. I could easily see a trade happening with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are down 3 defensive backs. Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and Antione Winfield Jr. are all hurt as of right now and the depth Tampa Bay has is very thin.

Haden is still playing at an elite level in pass coverage and hasn’t been injury-prone since his days in Cleveland, making him more enticing. From age 29-31, Joe Haden has held the opposing receivers’ completion percentage as high as 53.7% and as low as 50.5%. Haden still has excellent ball skills and is creating turnovers, he does let up most yards through the air instead of after the catch, which is good in some cases.

Haden is also a veteran and knows what to do and how to do it, he would need to just learn the playbook of his new team if traded. Trading the 3x Pro Bowler makes sense because the Steelers won’t be making a deep playoff run anytime soon and are starting to enter the rebuilding phase. The 32-year old cornerback does not seem to be declining in play and could help teams who are on the rise with leadership and being a reliable player on the boundary.