BEREA: Browns coach Hue Jackson wasn’t kidding when he said this week would be “huge” for two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden.
Not only is Haden expected to play for the first time this preseason when the Browns visit Tampa Bay in the third exhibition game for both teams at 8.p.m. Friday, but he’s also set to have a new sidekick — Jamar Taylor.
The Browns have been cautious with Haden as he’s worked his way back from March 16 ankle surgery. He returned to practice Aug. 8 but sat out the first two preseason games. Now he’s scheduled to fully participate in joint practices with the Bucs on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in Florida and make his 2016 preseason debut at the end of the work week.
Haden said he’s on pace to be ready for the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at Philadelphia. This week, though, will present a serious test.
“I haven’t had any setbacks,” Haden said after Sunday’s practice. “Ankle’s just been getting better and better, so I’ve just been doing more and more. Breaking, jumping, doing little bit of everything. So now I’m able to do team, 11-on-11 stuff full speed, full go.
“It’s going to be some real competition. And I think being able to go back full go finally against another team, trying to get after it, is going to be really good for me.”
It’ll also give Haden a test drive with his new partner. Taylor practiced with the first-team defense opposite Haden on Sunday. Tramon Williams, who’s started every game in which he’s appeared the past six seasons, including in 2015 with the Browns, worked as the first-team nickel corner.
“It means he is one of starting corners,” Jackson said of Taylor, a former second-round pick who was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Browns on the last day of the 2016 draft.
“Anybody that we put out there first, they have a chance to claim what is theirs and what they want,” Jackson added. “That is all everybody wants is just an opportunity to show that they belong or that they should be one of the 53, one of the guys and one of the starters. He is going to get that opportunity, and he has to make the most of it.”
Haden said he and Taylor can be a solid tandem.
“Jamar will be a really good starter,” Haden said. “You can tell by just people doing individual drills and the way that he comes out of his breaks, the way he understands football, the way he understands concepts. He’s a smart football player and his ability to be able to lock people up in press coverage, backpedals, his breaks, just watching him play, he’s a good player in the league.”
This isn’t the first shake-up involving Taylor and another cornerback.
Taylor entered training camp as the No. 1 nickel corner, supplanting K’Waun Williams, who held the role for the past two years. Williams recently appealed the two-week suspension and fine he received from the team stemming from a disagreement about the health of his right ankle. Williams’ agent said his client got a second medical opinion Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic, where a specialist said Williams needs surgery to remove bone spurs.
“I really don’t really know too much of the situation. I just hope that everything clears out,” Haden said. “K’Waun was one of my really good friends on the team.
“Some people, you’ve got to really love this to be here. It’s a lot of hours, a lot of things you have to put into it, and if you’re not all-in to it, then it’s not no one’s place to tell you what you want to do. I’m here for K’Waun whatever he wants to do, but we’ve just got to keep moving on with who we’ve got here.”
The other defensive backs are important, but Haden is the key to the secondary. He missed 11 games last season with two concussions and other injuries. The defense needs him to return to his Pro Bowl form if it hopes to be respectable.
“Joe is a leader in our locker room, so it provides a huge boost of energy and morale when he comes back in,” inside linebacker Demario Davis said. “He’s not coming back into a slight challenge. He’s going up against a top receiver in [Mike] Evans, and it’s going to be a great challenge for him. From what I’ve seen him do in practice, I know he’s ready and more excited than anybody and looking forward to the challenge more than anybody.”
Jackson reiterated what he said last week: This is a monumental week for Haden and rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman, who’s also expected to make his preseason debut against the Bucs after sitting out the first two exhibition games with a hamstring injury.
“They need to be out there with their teammates, good practice against somebody different than the guys they practice against a lot, and then have the opportunity to play in a game, too,” Jackson said. “That’s the goal for all those guys. I want to see them play in a game against a different opponent and come out there and prepare and get ready for a game because a couple of weeks from now, it’s real. They need to have that experience heading into our first game.”
Haden is eager for the tune-up.
“I’m just going to get my feet right back under me,” he said.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.