NFL executive suggests Titans should've traded another player and kept AJ Brown
The Tennessee Titans' decision to trade wide receiver AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles on night one of the 2022 NFL Draft was one of the biggest moves of the offseason. So naturally, there are a lot of opinions about whether or not the Titans made a good move. And there are opinions about how […]
The Tennessee Titans' decision to trade wide receiver AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles on night one of the 2022 NFL Draft was one of the biggest moves of the offseason.
So naturally, there are a lot of opinions about whether or not the Titans made a good move. And there are opinions about how Tennessee could've handled the situation differently.
Several anonymous NFL executives spoke with The Athletic this week about the moves made by teams during the draft.
And one executive feels like the Titans should've traded running back Derrick Henry instead of Brown.
“Would you have been better off trading Derrick Henry, paying A.J. Brown and then drafting Breece Hall or the kid from Michigan State (Kenneth Walker)?” said an executive to The Athletic. “You’d just transfer the money. Now the receiver gets $20-some million and we get rid of the back. Maybe they bring back Julio Jones, have Robert Woods, maybe draft another rookie and go that route.”
“For the Titans, some of this could come down to what they really think about A.J. Brown," added another executive. "They were obviously more willing to move him than a lot of people ever knew.”
I can see where the executives are coming from — running backs are seemingly easier to replace than wide receivers. Henry is the best running back in the NFL when he's healthy. But he's coming off a significant injury and he will turn 29 in January. While I don't think the Titans should trade him, I can understand why it would at least be a consideration.
However, in this particular situation, trading Henry wasn't an option. The Titans didn't face an AJ Brown vs Derrick Henry (or any other player on the roster) decision. Tennessee never got to negotiate with Brown, which tells us that the former Ole Miss wide receiver was ready to move on from the Titans.
Tennessee didn't have any choice but to trade Brown. They made the best out of a bad situation.
Featured image via Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
