The Tennessee Titans caught the sports world off guard when they fired general manager Jon Robinson on Tuesday.
To say this move was a shock would be a massive understatement. The decision to move on is understandable, but the fact that it happened mid-season during a winning campaign is what’s so surprising.
The timing of it all seems to indicate that ownership really did not enjoy watching Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown torching the team he once played for.
Several other factors certainly played into the decision, such as missed draft picks and failed free-agent acquisitions, but you have to be pretty naive to think that last Sunday’s overall disaster didn’t play into this decision.
Signed Clowney and Beasley to big money deals
Cut Saffold without an adequate replacementThere are other problems and a few hits mixed in there as well, but ultimately that series of moves led to him losing his job.
— Mike Herndon (@MikeHerndonNFL) December 6, 2022
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk has now made it loud and clear that her hands weren’t exactly cramping up when it came time to give the Ole Miss product a new deal.
Truthfully, the narrative that the Titans had no choice but to trade Brown was always delusional and non-sensical.
Tennessee always had a choice, and the decision Robinson seemingly made for them was to move on rather than being patient and exhausting every option when it came to negotiations.
Even if Brown supposedly cut off communication after asking for $80 million in guaranteed money back in April — the most irrelevant time of the year for veterans to be in contact with their team — the Titans had the right to tell his representation to call back when he’s realistic with his demands, otherwise they’ll see him in July.
Tennessee always had the leverage in this situation. Now, would this topic have been discussed to a nauseating degree every single day? Probably.
But what history shows us is that being patient and playing the leverage game often leads to both parties meeting halfway at some point.
You don’t have to look any further than the three similar examples from just last offseason.
Despite a ton of similar trade rumors, the 49ers eventually inked Deebo Samuel after things looked incredibly bleak, the Seahawks signed DK Metcalf, and the Commanders kept Terry McLaurin
More from NFL NOW on today’s surprising news: Jon Robinson is out as the first-place #Titans’ GM. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/3WYUvxkLHZ
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 6, 2022
Make no mistake about it, where there’s a will, there’s always a way, and especially in this era where the salary cap can be manipulated in a multitude of ways.
Absolute worst-case scenario, Robinson calls his bluff that he’s not going to hold out when it really matters, forcing him to finish out his contract, and then deal him next offseason after franchise tagging him.
However, at that point all the leverage would shift back to the talented wideout because the team would no longer be able to fine him.
But in no way, shape, or form was Brown ever going to cost himself money in the short term by holding out in 2022, and he damn sure was never going to put bad football on film and cost himself money in the long term.
Robinson had the choice to either sign him, play the long and annoying leverage game, force him to finish out his deal, or prematurely cave in negotiations.
The former Titans GM chose the latter.
That decision, combined with the fact that the Titans are right back amongst the worst wide receiver rooms in the NFL — a place this franchise knew all too well up until Brown was selected back in 2019 — ultimately became the final nail in Robinson’s metaphoric coffin.
Mike Vrabel won the power-struggle with Jon Robinson. This was his reaction to the A.J. Brown trade during the Draft.
Of course, it was also Robinson that drafted Brown in the 2nd round in the first place. Gave the Titans 4 cheap rookie years and then flipped him for a 1st. pic.twitter.com/mMUryPNlkC
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 6, 2022
To make that move in the middle of a Super Bowl window always required instant success that at least somewhat mirrored Brown’s impact.
Treylon Burks could very well become an elite player in the league as the year’s pass, but that doesn’t change the fact that JRob traded a bona fide superstar for a rookie when the team was on the cusp of a championship run just a season ago.
That type of gamble was never going to provide any type of long-term patience.
In the end, Robinson made his decision to move on from one of the most electrifying players in franchise history — and now, at least partly as a result, the Titans have made theirs.