5 things you need to know for Thursday

Hey there football fans, here are five things you need to know from Wednesday before the final action of the preseason kicks off Thursday afternoon:

CB Joe Haden has chosen to sign with the Steelers. He and the team agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal.

Haden was released from the Cleveland Browns earlier this morning, after a disappointing year with the team. In 2016, Haden gave up a league-high six touchdowns, and allowed 1.48 yards per coverage snap, the league’s 12th-highest mark among cornerbacks. He ended the year ranked 88th of 110 qualifying cornerbacks with a PFF overall grade of 46.0.

Haden was once thought of as one of the best cover cornerbacks in the game. The highlight of his career came in his rookie year, where he allowed a passer rating of just 51.1 on throws into his primary coverage, and ranked third among the league’s cornerbacks with a PFF coverage grade of 87.5.

The Steelers scheme could lead to a bounce back year for Haden. In 2016, The Pittsburgh Steelers played 75.2 percent of their snaps in zone coverage, the second most among teams in the league. Last season, Haden was targeted 30 times in zone coverage, allowed 15 receptions, logged all three of his interceptions, and allowed a passer rating of just 63.5, the 13th best mark among 73 corners with at least 25 targets in zone coverage.

The Packers signed Ahmad Brooks. Brooks signed with the Packers after being cut by the 49ers earlier this week.

Brooks played eight seasons for the 49ers but following a six-year run of solid play his performance dropped dramatically grading poor in each of the past three seasons (60.0 overall or below). In 2016, he earned an overall grade of 49.5, which ranked 87th out of 110 qualifying edge defenders.

Brooks was second on the team in pressures last season with 37 but was rather inefficient getting those pressures needing 362 pass-rush snaps to get there. His pass-rush productivity of 7.9 ranked 70th out of 104 qualifying edge defenders.

The Browns traded OL Cameron Erving to the Chiefs. In return, they received a fifth-round draft pick.

Erving has always been viewed as a Swiss Army knife along the offensive line. In his two seasons with the Browns, he started at four of five offensive line positions. Erving started 13 games for the Browns last season — 12 at center and one at right tackle — totaling 699 offensive snaps. In 2015, he played mostly guard, starting two games at left guard and two at right guard and totaling 429 offensive snaps on the season.

Erving has not yet lived up to his high draft status. In 2016, he was the lowest-ranked guard in the NFL among 38 qualifiers with an overall grade of 36.8. He struggled in both pass protection and as a run-blocker but most notably surrendered 29 total pressures on just 438 pass-block snaps, finishing with the lowest pass-blocking efficiency among centers.

Wide receivers Corey Davis and Eric Decker return to practice for the Titans. Both will be key contributors in the offense this year if they stay healthy.

Decker who had been ‘looking good in training camp’ missed around a week of practice following an ankle injury. While Davis had been suffering from a hamstring injury missing considerable time in training camp and all of the preseason to date.

Both players have been effective in the slot in their respective professional and collegiate careers to date. Decker’s 695 yards from the slot in 2015, a season in which he participated in fifteen games, ranked 15th among 52 eligible wide receivers, and his seven touchdowns tied third.

Davis had 599 yards from the slot in 2016 which equated to a PFF slot yards per route run of 4.99, the average number of yards picked up per route run as a slot wide receiver.

T.J. Ward is subject to trade conversations. The Broncos safety is reportedly drawing interest from at least one other team.

Ward recorded a PFF overall grade of 75.9 in 2016, which was the lowest of his seven year career to date, his best year coming in 2012 while with the Cleveland Browns, with his overall grade of 90.3, ranking fifth among safeties.

During the 2012 season, Ward demonstrated good all around ability with 22 run stops (defensive stops on running plays) equating to a PFF run stop efficiency of 6.1 which ranked fourth out of 55 eligible safeties, and his coverage snaps per reception (the amount of times a safety is the primary man in coverage relative to how many receptions he allowed) of 45.0 ranked first.

Since 2012, Ward has maintained high grades against the run, recording 14 run stops in 2016 and a run stop efficiency of 3.6, ranking 19th among 55 safeties. However, he has been less effective in coverage ranking 59th out of 60 in 2015, and 54th out of 56 in 2016 with regard to coverage snaps per reception.