In the minutes after a tight loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden made the rounds in the locker room to apologize to teammates for his four-game suspension.
Haden was penalized by the league on Monday for testing positive for the prescription drug Adderall during a routine offseason test. He won't return to the field until Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Breer: Do defenses stand a chance?
There was a record number of points in Week 1. Can the offensive revolution be slowed? Albert Breer examines. **More ...**
"It hurts him not to be out there," linebacker D'Qwell Jacksontold The Plain Dealer. "Joe is one of the biggest competitors on this team and he practices hard and plays hard. He came up to a few of us and he apologized for what had happened. If he knew the outcome before the situation happened, he obviously wouldn't have done it. It's here and hopefully the suspension goes by pretty quick and those other guys can step up. But he's feeling bad about it."
Linebacker Scott Fujita called Haden "one of the top five or six cover corners in the league" and he played that way against receiver DeSean Jackson and the Eagles in Week 1. Cleveland's secondary is a vulnerable collection of young, inexperienced players in Haden's absence. The next four opponents -- the Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants -- are going to take advantage of that.
It's a challenge to look at this rugged schedule and see where Cleveland's first victory comes from this season. Losing Haden is a headache they could do without.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
