Browns coach Eric Mangini makes it clear that Haden will have some catching up to do. Haden missed a full week of camp that was just for rookies, injured players and quarterbacks.
View full sizeThe contract squabbles are ouf of the way, but now rookie cornerback Joe Haden has some catching up to do during training camp.BEREA, Ohio — Browns top pick Joe Haden missed the first day of full-squad training camp Saturday but signed a five-year deal worth $50 million, including $26 million guaranteed, Malik Shareef, his agent, told The Plain Dealer.
The two sides had hoped to get Haden, a cornerback, on the field for the evening practice but still were working out some contract language. Haden will be on the field Sunday for the 1:30 p.m. practice.
"Joe is really excited," said Shareef. "We'd like to thank Browns President Mike Holmgren and the rest of the Browns organization for all of their hard work on this."
But Browns coach Eric Mangini made it clear that Haden, the No. 7 overall pick out of Florida, will have some catching up to do. Haden missed a full week of camp that was just for rookies, injured players and quarterbacks.
"It's day eight, and he has not been here, so there's a lot of information that has gone in to this point," said Mangini. "It's a lot of individual time that we've been able to spend with the rookies, and that's important. That's really, really important for these guys. I've had a lot of first-round draft picks where the ones that have gotten in early tend to get a better jump. You can't get those days back, which is unfortunate. There will be a lot of rust where these other kids have had a chance to work out and be in pads and get through their conditioning run. He's going to have to go through that whole process, which makes it a little tougher."
Haden will battle for a starting job with first-teamers Eric Wright and Sheldon Brown. If he doesn't start right away, he figures to get plenty of playing time in nickel and dime defenses.
Mangini downplayed a report by one of his critics, former Browns General Manager Mike Lombardi, who wrote on nationalfootballpost.com that Haden struggled in off-season practices and that the coaches are concerned about his slow play.
"I can tell you that a lot of rookies go through a transition," said Mangini. "A lot of corners go through transition, and they aren't going to play as fast as they are early on because they're thinking and processing. When you do that, you're not really playing to your ability, and that's something that I stress. I sat down with the rookies for a long time before they left and said, 'The more you can get on this stuff mentally, the quicker you're just going to be able to show who you are as opposed to everything is processed.' "