Why the A.J. Brown trade rumors keep hovering around the Tennessee Titans
NASHVILLE — The NFL offseason has slowed from its break-neck pace. Rumors swirling around wide receiver A.J. Brown of the Tennessee Titans as a potential New York Jets trade target have filled the void. Free agency spoiled us, now the transaction news thirst cannot be controlled. The Brown rumors began when ESPN reporter Rich Cimini noted […]
NASHVILLE — The NFL offseason has slowed from its break-neck pace. Rumors swirling around wide receiver A.J. Brown of the Tennessee Titans as a potential New York Jets trade target have filled the void.
Free agency spoiled us, now the transaction news thirst cannot be controlled.
The Brown rumors began when ESPN reporter Rich Cimini noted that the New York Jets are “keeping an eye” on Brown’s situation in Tennessee. Cimini also noted that DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers star Deebo Samuel were of interest to New York. Nothing overly inflammatory, given that the Jets were reportedly in on at Tyreek Hill Sweepstakes and struck out.
Brown, Metcalf and Samuel will all come with top-of-market contracts and the Titans are already tight to the cap.
The Titans are not trading A.J. Brown
General manager Jon Robinson has gone on-record twice on this subject in the last two weeks.
Robinson has maintained that they are working diligently to keep Brown in Tennessee. Multiple Titans sources confirm that, while everyone has a price, the team has no interest whatsoever in trading away the star receiver. As a second-round pick in 2019, Brown enters the 2022 season in the final year of his rookie deal. Robinson understands that getting an extension done this offseason will protect against future receiver contract inflation.
High dollar figures for Davante Adams, Christian Kirk and Hill at the same position have done their best to nuke any kind of receiver cost control.
Cimini's report is well within reason. Why would any NFL organization with cap space to burn and needs at wide receiver not monitor every situation where a contending team with one might need salary relief?
The difference between Brown and Metcalf, for example, is that the former's future is still very much defined in Tennessee. When the Seattle Seahawks traded quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver on March 16, it brought about legitimate questions for Metcalf. It is completely reasonable that Seattle would not be above keeping Brown's former Ole Miss teammate around at top dollar, while still being open to seeing what an exchange might yield.
A high-priced wide receiver without a signal-calling solution in place to get him the ball is a different kind of sunk cost.
The Kansas City Chiefs did not want to trade Hill to the Miami Dolphins. Their leadership has faith that quarterback Patrick Mahomes can elevate the weaponry around him. Instead of paying into the bloated wide out market, Kansas City can now use the five draft picks they got from Miami to try and reload around the star they cannot replace.
A deal can always make sense under the right circumstances.
The Titans cannot afford to keep all of their best players with the bill nearly due on Brown, Jeffery Simmons, Amani Hooker, David Long and others. Difficult decisions get made before each new football season.
Keeping Brown in Tennessee is not one of them.
Featured Image: George Walker IV-USA TODAY Sports.
