Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Hanzus: “A.J. Brown told ESPN that the stunning draft-night trade to the Eagles “wasn’t my fault” and that he wanted to stay in Tennessee. While GM Jon Robinson said contract discussions got to a point “where it was going to be hard to get a deal done,” Brown, who signed a four-year, $100 million deal with the Eagles, said to ESPN he would’ve remained a Titan if he had been offered $22 million per year. Regardless of how the negotiations played out, this much we know: Brown, with 24 receiving touchdowns at 24 years old, wanted to be paid like a star. The Titans weren’t interested in shelling out the gonzo wideout money that has defined this offseason, so they sent one of their most important players to the NFC and started over at the position with first-round pick Treylon Burks. Maybe this was ultimately the right play for Tennessee — financially, at least — but it’s also hard to say the Titans are a better team now than they were in January. In a loaded AFC, that would be very bad news.”
