When the Browns announced that cornerback Joe Haden had ankle surgery last week, word was that Haden would miss the offseason program before returning to the field during training camp.
On Monday, though, Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown expressed some uncertainty about when Haden would be ready after having cartilage and ligament damage repaired. Brown said, via Cleveland.com, it is “too early to tell” at this point whether Haden will be given the green light before the start of the 2016 season.
Brown said Haden initially hurt the ankle in early November and then aggravated the injury during an offseason workout and that he knows the corner will put in the necessary work to get back sooner rather than later. Coach Hue Jackson expressed a similar sentiment, but added that the team will make contingency plans in the event Haden, who missed 11 games last season, isn’t ready to go for the start of the season.
Tramon Williams, K’Waun Williams, Pierre Desir and Justin Gilbert are in-house options to play with or in place of Haden.