New Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown is a rich man — signing a four-year, $100 million deal with Philly after being traded from the Tennessee Titans during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Brown’s departure from the Titans was a dramatic one, as the franchise had no plans to deal the star receiver, but things went awry in contract negotiations.
Despite his bright new future, Brown has often pointed to the past over the last few months. The night he was traded, Brown tweeted goodbye to Tennessee while adding “THIS WAS NOT MY FAULT” before deleting the message. He also claimed he was the best receiver in Titans franchise history, and took a shot at Tennessee when Deebo Samuel signed his extension earlier this week.
During an NFL Network interview at Eagles training camp Thursday, Brown was asked if he had come to terms with how things ended with the Titans.
“You know, it’s a business, and I’m not upset about the trade or anything because it is a business or whatever,” Brown said, via NFL.com. “But to be honest, I just didn’t appreciate how it all went down, and they just kind of blamed me for it. I’m man enough to say that, however people may take it. But I have no bad blood with Tennessee. I’m moving forward. I’m happy to be here. But (there are) a lot of things people don’t know about, and they’re just pointing fingers at me. But that’s OK.”
Why the Titans traded one of their best players is something that is still — and probably always will be — debated. Brown told ESPN after the transaction that Tennessee didn’t give an offer that was even worth $20 million per year. However, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Titans offered more than $20 million per year. Brown has said that he wasn’t to blame for the trade, yet it was reported that he actually requested a change of scenery. Something went wrong in extension talks, and that was that.
The addition of Brown is a reason why the Eagles are seen as one of the big winners of the offseason. They signed Haason Reddick and James Bradberry to go along with Brown, and also scored in the NFL Draft, selecting two players from one of the best defenses in college football history in Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean and defensive lineman Jordan Davis.
