Over the weekend, ESPN reporter Rich Cimini reported that the New York Jets are "keeping an eye" on wide receiver AJ Brown's situation with the Tennessee Titans.

That one sentence set off a flurry of rumors/reaction that Brown could be leaving Nashville.

The Titans, to their credit, quickly tried to dispel that rumor by attacking social media with general manager Jon Robinson's quote on Sunday at the NFL owners meetings about wanting to keep Brown in Nashville beyond the 2022 season (Brown's contract expires after this upcoming season).

"A.J. is an important part of what we do," said Robinson (via TennesseeTitans.com). "He's a great teammate, he works hard, he's about what we're about. A.J. is a Titan and we want to keep A.J. a Titan. And that's part of our goal this offseason, or whenever that manifests itself, to come to an agreement to keep him around."

I think there are two things that can be true when talking about Brown's future with the Titans.

• Tennessee is going to make keeping Brown in Nashville a top priority.
• Titans fans should be nervous that Brown ends up elsewhere after the 2022 season.

Robinson has proved during his time with the Titans that he's committed to rewarding players who perform at a high level with lucrative contract extensions.

Taylor Lewan, Kevin Byard, Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill, and Harold Landry are some of the Titans who have cashed in with Tennessee thanks to their stellar play.

Logic would suggest that Brown will be the next player on that list.

My gut says that's what will end up happening. We have to trust Robinson's track record in these situations.

However, I don't think Titans fans should look at the Jets keeping an eye on Brown's situation as complete nonsense.

If you would've told me earlier this month that the Green Bay Packers would be trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs would be trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins I would've told you there's no way that happens. And then I would've laughed at anyone who could even suggest that Adams or Hill would be traded.

And I would've looked foolish.

After everything we've seen happen this offseason, I don't think we can completely rule anything out when it comes to Brown.

Contract negotiations change things. Maybe Brown gets to a price point that the Titans aren't comfortable with. Or maybe DK Metcalf signs a mega-contract extension and completely changes the tone of the discussions between Brown and the Titans (that's what happened with the Chiefs and Hill, only it was Adams' extension that led to the change in tone from Hill).

Nothing is ever certain until the pen meets paper. Ultimately, I think the Titans get a deal done with Brown. I don't think this turns into an Adams/Hill situation.

But we simply can't rule it out at this point.

Featured image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK