With Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown entering the final year of his rookie deal and not having a contract extension lined up, speculation has run rampant about him possibly playing elsewhere down the road.
ESPN’s New York Jets beat writer Rich Cimini really kicked things off when he reported that Gang Green is “keeping an eye on” the situation involving Brown’s contract extension in the hopes he might become available for trade.
More recently, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is good friends with Brown, asked the Titans wideout if he would be interested in joining Hurts in Philly in an exchange on an NFL Instagram post.
Brown didn’t bite.
AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts on the NFL’s recent post 👀 pic.twitter.com/eM9YUyqgTw
— Matt (@hurts_szn01) April 1, 2022
As players and fans from different NFL teams continue to dream of the idea of one of the league’s best young receivers joining their team, Titans general manager Jon Robinson has made it clear that the Titans have no intention of letting Brown go.
“A.J. is an important part of what we do. He’s a great teammate, he works hard, he’s about what we’re about. A.J. is a Titan and we want to keep A.J. a Titan. And that’s part of our goal this offseason, or whenever that manifests itself, to come to an agreement to keep him around.”
“We get calls about players all the time – that’s what GMs do,” Robinson continued. “I haven’t received any of those calls (about A.J.), and if they do call, our intention is A.J., we are going to keep him in Nashville. He is an important part of our offense.”
While there’s no chance the Titans will trade Brown, they do have to ink him to a long-term deal before the start of the new league year in 2023 or else the Ole Miss product will hit free agency.
Robinson has indicated the two sides have had preliminary talks about a new deal, but nothing concrete has come to fruition yet, at least not publically.
QB Jalen Hurts on his close relationship w/ #Titans WR A.J. Brown: "I tried to recruit him to Alabama. We've been very close ever since. He's one of my best friends."#NFLCombine
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) February 25, 2020
Spotrac estimates Brown’s market value at a four-year contract worth $69.2 million ($17.3 million annually); however, that number has likely gone up this offseason after some of the massive deals wide receivers like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Christian Kirk have gotten this offseason.
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