Cleveland Has a New No. 23 in Town: Browns' Joe Haden

The city of Cleveland has a brand new No. 23 to get behind as the hopeful future of one of their beloved sports teams.

That new No. 23 is on the front and back of first round pick and the Cleveland Browns' new $50 million cornerback Joe Haden .

After missing the first day of open training camp, Haden hit the field on Sunday afternoon for the first time.

It was reported by various Cleveland sports outlets, that fans in attendance did cheer for him when he made his first appearance and made plays during drills, but fans will also have to be patient until the new No. 23 is a full-time starter for the defense.

Normally a top 10 draft pick would become an instant starter in the NFL especially since there is a ton of money being invested into that player. Head coach Eric Mangini has said there is no guarantee Haden will start on day one of the regular season.

Unlike another former first round cornerback that Mangini coached recently in Darrelle Revis, who started for the Jets in game one, Mangini does understand how to develop defensive talent since he was a defensive coordinator prior to becoming a head coach.

That is good news for Haden because look what Mangini helped make out of Revis.

Another report from Browns camp stated that Haden , who wore No. 5 at Florida and No. 40 during the off-season programs, did not want to wear that number because it made him look slow.

So he settled on No. 23. Sadly, Haden was pumped at the prospect of becoming a Cleveland Cavalier season ticket holder and he said that was one of the first things he thought of when thinking of moving to Cleveland.

That won't happen. Haden did mention, however, that he is highly motivated to have Browns fans and Cleveland fans in general forget about the old No. 23 and when they think of that number, they will think of him first and foremost.

Haden is looking to be the Browns' nickelback and third cornerback on the field when defensive coordinator Rob Ryan calls his various formations and nearly half of all his formations from the 2009 season has two or more cornerbacks on the field at the same time.

With incumbent Eric Wright in a contract year this year, he should play better than he has ever played in order to get himself a long term deal with many zeros at the end of the contract amount, he will start.

With the Browns giving veteran Sheldon Brown a new three-year contract extension, it is doubtful that he would not start opposite of Wright.

The Browns just gave Haden $12 million as his signing bonus along with the other $14 million that is guaranteed on his five-year deal as the top cornerback in the 2010 NFL draft class.

Luckily, it really doesn't matter who is starting and who is not since Ryan does indeed use a third corner set in nearly half of all his play calling and all three will be able to to make an impact this upcoming season.

Let's just hope the new No. 23 is worth the price.

Only patience will lead Browns fans to that answer which will most likely to be seen this year and more so in the years following this year.

(Also posted on Dawg Scooper: THE Cleveland Browns Blog )