As the Philadelphia Eagles attempt to win their second Super Bowl since the 2017 season this weekend, Tennessee Titans fans are staring down the possibility of having to watch A.J. Brown lift the Lombardi Trophy.
That would be a tough pill to swallow, partly because Brown became a villain in the wake of his being dealt to the Eagles in last year’s draft.
But the biggest reason that’s the case is because the Titans trading him still haunts fans, and will for a long time to come, especially with Brown posting monster numbers in his first season in Philly.
Despite getting into some spats with fans after being dealt, Brown says he has no ill will towards the Titans or their fans. He also admitted that, early on, he was too in his feelings and “had to learn it’s a business.”
“I think early on as a man I could say I was speaking from a place of feelings, and I had to learn it’s a business,” Brown said, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “But I have no hard feelings for nobody in Tennessee, the fans, none of that. Tennessee gave me my first shot, so there’s definitely respect… I still have love for Tennessee.”
One of the comments that created headlines was Brown saying he had “no fun” while playing for Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who he compared to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in terms of his approach.
Vrabel apparently didn’t take that personally, though, as evidenced by him reaching out to Brown, who says he still has a relationship with his former teammates.
“A lot of guys have reached out to me,” Brown said. “Coach (Mike) Vrabel reached out to me. I have no hard feelings for nobody in Tennessee. There’s nothing but love, and they are still showing me love, too.”
“I put in a lot of time with these guys,” Vrabel said of Brown. “If you do it the right way, you can still have a relationship after they are on someone else’s team. A.J. and I spent a lot of time together, and shared a lot of personal conversations. Of course I wish the best for him.”
During his stop in Tennessee, wide receivers coach Rob Moore was someone who had a major impact on Brown. In fact, the wideout calls Moore a mentor and says the coach helped him out “tremendously.”
“Coach Moore, he was like a mentor to me, still is,” he admitted. “He helped me out tremendously. The success I have on the field really comes from him. Just laying the foundation as soon as I got to the league, teaching me things, and really steering me in the right direction.”
The Titans recently made a bunch of coaching-staff changes, but Moore was not one of them. Based on Brown’s comments it’s easy to see why.
As far as playing in the Super Bowl is concerned, Brown says he’s “blessed and fortunate” to be playing in the Big Game this Sunday.
“God put me in this situation,” Brown said. “I am blessed and fortunate. I had a really good year, and now I am playing in the biggest game. I am just trying to finish the job and I am not really thinking about what happened in the past or anything like that, because I had good years in Tennessee. I am still learning, still growing as a player.”
Of course, Brown isn’t the only notable former Titan going for a Super Bowl ring, as punter Brett Kern is also in Philly. Knowing Kern can win a ring will no doubt make A.J. winning one a lot easier to swallow.
