clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

John Lynch on Joe Haden: We’ll try and improve our team where we can

The 49ers could use some cornerback help, but I suspect we see Joe Haden sign with a contender.

The Cleveland Browns released Joe Haden Wednesday morning, and we can’t rule the San Francisco 49ers out of the picture for him. General manager John Lynch was on KNBR this morning, and he had some interesting comments about Haden. We’ll have more from his interview later today, but in the meantime, Matt Maiocco had this from the interview:

Haden is a vested veteran (at least four accrued seasons), which means he does not have to go through the waivers process. Starting at 1 p.m. PT, he’ll be free to sign with any team he wants. And given some of the early names mentioned, I would be surprised if he ended up with the 49ers.

ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported that the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers have both put in calls to Haden’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Adam Schefter followed up by reporting that the Steelers are the current favorite.

It makes a lot of sense for Haden to end up with a playoff contender. He’ll want a reasonable contract, but having come into the league before the rookie wage scale, he’s done well for himself financially. He can potentially sacrifice a bigger deal from a team out of the playoff picture for a decent pay day with a playoff contender. He likely has to do some visits, but it would not surprise me if a deal was done with a team before the end of tonight.