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Former Browns Star Heaps Major Praise on Cleveland Fans
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- Former Browns Star Heaps Major Praise on Cleveland Fans
(© Scott Galvin-Imagn Images)
After having their team taken away back in 1995, then reinstated in 1999, Cleveland Browns fans have been dealt with a lot of losing over the last two-plus decades.
The franchise has produced just four winning seasons in total during that span and has run through over 40 different starting quarterbacks as well.
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Who could forget the back-to-back seasons where the Browns posted an overall record of 1-31, including the infamous 0-16 campaign in 2017, that made Cleveland just the second team in NFL history to go winless in a season.
Simply put, there has been very little to celebrate over the years for Browns fans, which is why one former Browns player paid the team's supporters the ultimate compliment.
Joe Haden made an appearance on the 4th and South Pod , which is hosted by former Browns wideout Jarvis Landry and ex-Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Leonard Fournette, and opened up about is seven-year tenure with Cleveland. At one point, he offered up a shoutout for the fans continued loyalty through a lot of losing.
"When I got to that city, they just embraced me, open arms... I was young, rich, and living my best life," the three-time Pro Bowler said. "We were still losing, but they were still supporting me. They would still show love, still be like, 'Man, don't worry about it, you're the best corner in the league.'"
Haden has always shared a tight relationship with the city of Cleveland, even after he was released by the franchise in 2017 and went on to sign with Cleveland's biggest rival the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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The No. 7 overall pick of Cleveland in 2010 has returned on plenty of occasions to support the city and the Browns, even handling the team's pre-game guitar smashing duties for a prime-time matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
It's fair to say that Haden remains one of Cleveland's biggest advocates, even after his retirement from the league in 2021.
Across seven seasons with the Browns, Haden corralled 19 interceptions, returning one for a touchdown and breaking up over 100 passes. For his entire career, he finished with 29 total interceptions, two pick-sixes and 155 PBUs. He also forced seven fumbles, recovering six of them, made over 500 solo tackles and recorded three sacks.
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