For the first time since the Tennessee Titans traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of 2022 NFL draft picks, the wide receiver touched on the trade that rocked the Titans fan base on Thursday night.
Brown spoke to ESPN’s Turron Davenport following the deal and made it clear he wanted to stay in Nashville. He also revealed that the Titans’ offer was below the $20 million per year that was leaked via an Instagram Live video last week.
“This wasn’t my fault,” Brown said of his exit from Nashville. “I wanted to stay, but the deal they offered was a low offer. The deal they offered wasn’t even $20 million a year.”
Brown’s sentiments echo what he tweeted out in the wake of the trade when he deleted a tweet saying it wasn’t his fault. If Tennessee did offer him less than $20 million (Brown has no reason to lie), it certainly makes this situation much more frustrating and turns the tables a bit.
“I would have stayed if they offered me $22 million,” Brown revealed.
With the wide receiver market having exploded this offseason, $22 million isn’t a crazy number. All along we estimated Brown would fetch in the neighborhood of $22 to $25 million annually in a new deal.
However, it’s clear the Titans weren’t willing to go that high for whatever reason. We suspect Brown’s injury issues the past few seasons were the cause. Still, Brown wasn’t asking for some ridiculous number.
Well, Brown ended up getting more than he was asking for with the Titans, as the Eagles promptly paid him a contract extension of $100 million over four years, with $57 million guaranteed.
Only time will tell if the Titans botched this situation entirely or not, but we can say this situation sucks even more now that we have more details.
