Titans cast-off earns “best center in the league” recognition from OL expert, drawing Jason Kelce comparisons

The $2 steak is absolutely crushing it this year.

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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“He’s explosive, he’s quick, he’s tougher than a $2 steak.” That’s what former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said about his then-starting center Aaron Brewer in training camp of 2022. Unbeknownst to everybody at the time, that season would go on to become the beginning of the end of the Vrabel regime. GM Jon Robinson would be fired in November, the team would win just seven games, and it was all downhill until Vrabel’s firing following an even worse 2023 season.

2023 was also Aaron Brewer’s final year in Tennessee. He played on a $4.3 million restricted tender that year, and then signed a 3yr/$21 million contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency. And now, he’s playing better than he ever did in Nashville.

OL expert gives Aaron Brewer a midseason superlative award

Brewer played over 2,700 snaps in his four years with Tennessee. When he left in the spring of 2024, there was no reported interest in bringing him back. The Titans had, in piecemeal fashion, undergone a full regime change that alienated him. GM Ran Carthon was hired in 2023, and head coach Brian Callahan was hired in 2024. Brewer wasn’t either guy’s “guy”, and OL coach Bill Callahan’s type couldn’t have been any more different.

Brewer is an undersized but athletic archetype of lineman at 6’1, 295lbs (that’s his listed weight, which has always been dubious at best). The Titans went out in free agency and signed 6’4 315lb Lloyd Cushenberry to a longterm contract to fill the role.

Cushenberry has been fine when available, and suffered an unfortunate season-ending injury in 2024 that forced him to miss half the year and most of the offseason. But what Brewer’s been doing in Miami this season, amidst an otherwise brutal year for the Dolphins, has been fantastic.

“He has a case to be the best center in the league this year I think,” explained OL expert Brandon Thorne on The Athletic Football Show with Robert Mays. “He’s certainly one of the three (best). But now he’s in a system though, in Miami, to where he’s weaponized in terms of his athletic ability. He’s explosive and powerful. Kind of has little shades of Jason Kelce when he gets out there on the move. It’s pretty awesome to watch.”

Thorn is an OL analyst for Bleacher Report, OL Masterminds, and Establish The Run. He is, for my money, the foremost OL evaluator in the current NFL media landscape. I spoke with Thorn about Dan Moore back in the spring right here if you’re interested.

When he throws around “best in the league” and starts evoking future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce comps for a player, I don’t take that lightly. So it sounds like Brewer, who Titans fans grew tired of in the end with Tennessee and loved to jokingly refer to as the $2 steak Vrabel once deemed him, is playing some incredible ball right now. He’s always been a scheme-dependent player with clear physical weaknesses and strengths, and Miami’s offense has enabled him to lean into what he does best: being more athletic than you.

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