Joe Haden is in a different situation than he's been in recent offseasons.
No, not because he's now with the Steelers after spending seven years in Cleveland. That sunk in last year when he signed with Pittsburgh at the end of the preseason following his release by the Browns.
Haden is actually able to work out this offseason, something he had been unable to do in the previous couple of seasons with Cleveland because of injuries. And the 29-year-old cornerback wants to make the most of his first full offseason with his new team.
"My groin is good. My knee is good. I'm healthy," Haden said Thursday of the injuries that held him back in the past. "I'm able to get a full offseason workout. My last two offseasons, I haven't really been able to train like I would like. This year, I got after training like I never have before."
That meant, according to Haden, starting to work out just a week after the Steelers' season-ending 45-42 playoff loss to Jacksonville in the playoffs Jan. 14. That playoff game was the first of Haden's career and he's hungry for more.
But he also knows he'll be working with a completely revamped secondary in 2018. Not only were starting free safety Mike Mitchell and longtime cornerback William Gay released prior to the start of free agency, the Steelers also have a new secondary coach. Tom Bradley was hired to replace Carnell Lake, who stepped down at the end of the season.
Veteran safety Morgan Burnett was signed in free agency from Green Bay to replace Mitchell on the roster, but not necessarily in his position. Though Burnett has played free safety in his previous eight seasons, the Steelers haven't officially announced whether it will be Burnett, strong safety Sean Davis or a yet-unknown player who will be the team's starting free safety.
Haden thinks Davis can handle the job.
"We haven't really talked about who is in what position," Haden said. "Sean, I think he could definitely be a free safety. He's the dude I see being able to go sideline to sideline and being able to tackle, he's going to be able to get people down.
"At free safety, we need a sure tackler, being able to go sideline to sideline, being over top of the corners, being able to be the blanket over the top of the defense. If anything breaks, it's a 20-yard gain, not a 50-yard gain."
That will be a key to fixing Pittsburgh's defensive issues from 2017. Though the Steelers ranked in the top 10 in both scoring and total defense, they had some lapses at times that were damaging, allowing 13 passing plays of 40 or more yards, tying for third-most in the league.
Haden said the team has been watching tape of its playoff loss to Jacksonville this week as it started phase 1 of its offseason program -- largely film study and weightlifting -- in an effort to correct some of those issues.
"A lot of it is communication. We've been watching tape of it now, how we can communicate a little better, what went wrong. We're working on that now," he said. "It's little discipline stuff. It wasn't really people beating you when you were in man. It was just little things in communication when switching and trying to figure out who has who.
"We started playing more man last year. With the players we have, I think that's a thing we can do, so I think we might do even more of that."
Mitchell was largely in charge of the communication on the back end of the defense. And the defensive communication did suffer last season after Ryan Shazier suffered a season-ending spinal cord injury Dec. 4 at Cincinnati.
Replacing Shazier in the defense is the biggest issue the Steelers face this offseason.
But the Steelers did add two players who are excellent communicators. Burnett was the defensive playcaller in Green Bay, while linebacker Jon Bostic, the team's other big free agent signing this offseason, did the same in Indianapolis last season.
"Everybody has to understand that we have the talent to do it," Haden said. "We just have to be on the same page and communicate better and know your job, know your assignment. If we do that, we'll be good."
Haden knows a little bit about Burnett. The two met at the NFL Scouting Combine when both came into the league in 2010. And Haden is friends with one of his former teammates, cornerback Micah Hyde, who gave him the inside scoop on the Steelers' new safety.
"I know Micah Hyde, we went on a little mini-vacation with our wives," Haden said. "He said Morgan is a great player. He had nothing but good things to say about him, so I can't wait to play with him."
The big question is how the secondary shakes out. Even with Mitchell, Gay and Robert Golden -- who also was released -- gone, the Steelers bring back six NFL caliber cornerbacks and four veteran safeties in Burnett, Davis, J.J. Wilcox and Nat Berhe, who was signed as a free agent from the Giants.
The team also figures to bring in more young talent in next week's draft.
"Anything can help. I love it because we have a lot of competition, a lot of talent in that room," Haden said. "We'll be able to see during OTAs, during training camp. Whoever's balling, I know the coaches are going to put the best people on the field."