Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown had his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, and as you’d expect he was asked about his former team.
Of course, Brown and the Titans came to an impasse in contract negotiations, which led to the Ole Miss product unexpectedly getting dealt during the first night of the 2022 NFL draft. The Titans then turned around and used one of the two picks acquired in the deal to take Arkansas’ Treylon Burks.
We’ve heard different stories about what went down between Brown and the Titans.
Brown’s side is basically that the Titans made a low-ball offer to him, but the Titans’ side is that Brown was asking for even more than the Eagles gave him, and ultimately he wanted out of Tennessee.
When asked about whether or not he demanded a trade — ESPN’s Dianna Russini recently reported he did and then asked for about $80 million guaranteed from the Titans — he refused to answer.
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— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 2, 2022
“I’m (going to) try not to get into all that,” Brown said, via John Glennon of Sports Illustrated. “I’m not going to look backwards. I’m moving forward. Like I said, I’m excited.”
Brown says leaving the Titans was “bittersweet” and that he was “sad” Tennessee was “on board with the trade.”
“Like I said, it was bittersweet. I was a little sad the Titans (were) on board with the trade, but it’s a part of the business and that’s fine,” Brown said. “But once everything got done and the trade went through and Jalen called me, he made it a lot easier. Like I said, it’s been bittersweet. But I’m also so excited to be a part of this great organization.”
Despite the bad ending in Nashville, Brown says he has no bad blood towards his now-former team.
“They were just sorry it couldn’t work out,” Brown said. “It’s a business. Things happen and you move on. I appreciate the Titans for everything they did for me. People down there, I have no bad blood with the Titans. They believed in me, they drafted me. They got my career started.”
As far as his new home is concerned, Brown says he’s happy the Eagles “believed in me” and that he “just wanted my work to be appreciated.”
“I just wanted my work to be appreciated,” Brown said. “That’s pretty much it. I’m one of the top guys in the league, and I’m confident in how I play and what I bring to the table. I’m glad the Eagles believed in me.”
Some will take that as a shot at the Titans, but there’s no sense in getting worked up about it now. Brown is in Philly and the Titans are moving forward without their now-former best receiver.
It won’t be long before Brown meets his former team, though. The Titans will play the Eagles in Philly during the 2022 NFL season. The league will release every team’s exact schedule on May 12.