ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday morning that Tennessee Titans wide receiver AJ Brown won't participate in the team's on-field workouts that begin this week as he seeks a new contract.

Brown is entering the final season of his rookie deal and he's looking for a new contract before the start of the 2022 season.

The Titans have made it clear that they plan to extend Brown. He's an extremely important piece of the offense and Tennessee doesn't plan to watch him put on another team's uniform.

Brown doesn't need to skip on-field workouts to get a new contact. The Titans are likely motivated to get this deal done sooner rather than later. Brown is only going to get more expensive as other wide receivers sign new contracts (mainly Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf). Extending Brown before Samuel and Metcalf would be in the Titans' best interest financially.

Brown's decision to skip on-field workouts is reminiscent of Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan skipping a mandatory mini-camp in 2018 when he was looking for a new contract.

Lewan skipped minicamps in June but he eventually reported to training camp on time. He signed an $80 million extension just a couple of days after reporting to training camp. The decision to skip minicamps presumably didn't get an extension done any faster for Lewan.

(We never got to see how running back Derrick Henry would've handled this situation since offseason activities in 2020 were canceled due to COVID-19. Henry signed his franchise tag in April 2020 and signed a contract extension a few months later in mid-July.)

The situations are very similar. And just like with Lewan, Brown skipping on-field workouts isn't going to get this deal done any quicker. All it really does is bring negative attention to the talented wide receiver (it's inevitable that not everyone will understand that Brown is using the only leverage he has to get a deal done).

Tennessee has proved over the years under general manager Jon Robinson that they're committed to giving contract extensions to players who perform at a high level. Brown's "holdout" isn't going to alter anything about the outcome of these negotiations.

There is one reason, however, why Brown's decision makes some sense.

The last thing Brown needs right now is an injury. That would seriously complicate negotiations to the point where a deal might not get done before the season.

While it's not necessary for Brown to skip workouts to get a new contract, there's also no reason for him to be out on the field risking injury before he gets that new contract.

This is just the business side of football. And I think at times we forget that despite being a game and entertainment for fans, this is ultimately a billion-dollar business where tough decisions have to be made.

I expect an extension to get done between Brown and the Titans. In a couple of years, these skipped workouts in April will just be a small footnote on Brown's career.

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