BEREA, Ohio -- It’s pretty evident that the Cleveland Browns feel like Joe Haden's Pro Bowl days are behind him.

That’s an assertion that Haden would vehemently argue, but the news that the Browns are willing to take offers for Haden did not bring any kind of blanket denial from coach Hue Jackson, the guy who takes questions on these kind of things at this time of year.

Instead, Jackson said he trusts that VP of football operations Sashi Brown will do the right thing. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Browns have been talking trade about Haden for days. A trade might or might not come to fruition -- Haden’s contract makes trading him a tough task -- but it’s safe to surmise that Haden’s future with the Browns is tenuous.

Cornerback Joe Haden is due a base salary of $11.1 million this season. Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

Haden is the fifth-highest paid cornerback in the league, with a base salary of $11.1 million this season, per spotrac.com. In terms of base salary, he ranks behind Trumaine Johnson of the Rams, Josh Norman of the Redskins, Janoris Jenkins of the Giants and Richard Sherman of the Seahawks and ahead of Aqib Talib of the Broncos. It would be tough to find people in the league who believe Haden is the fifth-best corner in the NFL. The Browns clearly feel the production does not match the paycheck.

Haden has been among Cleveland's most loyal players since being drafted in the first round in 2010. He came back from a four-game suspension in 2012 a different person and player. He hit a Pro Bowl level in 2013 and was selected to the game again in 2014.

He was rewarded with a rich contract extension in May 2014. But in 2015 he missed a game in San Diego with a finger issue, then was sidelined by a concussion for the final eight games of the season. The concussion was serious; Haden talked about having to sit in a dark room for days.

Last season, Haden missed three games with groin muscle injuries that required postseason surgery. Despite missing three games, Haden fought through the injuries to play the final nine games of the season.

If he’s at his peak, Haden is the best of the Browns' cornerbacks. The question is whether he’s at the point where the injuries and surgery have affected his performance. But Haden passionately believes he is as good as ever. The Browns’ willingness to listen to offers says the team believes otherwise.

Jason McCourty, Jamar Taylor and Micheal Boddy-Calhoun are not Haden at their best, but if Haden has slipped to second- or third-cornerback level with this group, then it’s evident why the team sees him as expendable.

The other 31 teams are aware of all the concerns about Haden, and salaries totaling $32.6 million the next three seasons make it very tough to complete a trade.

The question becomes what the Browns do with Haden if they can’t trade him. He’s been a loyal Brown for many years.

In one sense, he’s the example of the tough side of the business. He’s a guy who put his body on the line to keep playing for a losing team, then becoming expendable the following season. He's a guy who has been devoted to the city of Cleveland since he was drafted.

He’s also been paid $70.97 million by the Browns since he joined the team in 2010, according to spotrac.com.

Not every player gets to decide how his tenure with a team ends.