As AJ Brown gets set for Super Bowl 2023, reliving Titans trade that brought him to Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles will be playing in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, and they can thank the Tennessee Titans as willing partners.
It'll be the 291st day that A.J. Brown will have been a member of the Eagles following a draft-night trade in April.
Tennessee traded away its young star receiver for the No. 18 overall pick and a third round pick in the 2022 draft. With the No. 18 pick, the Titans drafted Treylon Burks, who battled injuries but was the best receiver on the field at times when available in his rookie season.
It didn't help that Robert Woods struggled to produce as the most accomplished veteran receiver on the roster, and that the Titans' reshaped offensive line struggled all year.
But Brown's absence was obvious all year. Let's go back to 42 weeks ago.
GENTRY ESTES: A.J. Brown and Tennessee Titans have moved on. You should do the same
BROWN ON THE TITANS: Ahead of Super Bowl 2023, Eagles' A.J. Brown reflects on Tennessee Titans trade
TO THE SUPER BOWL: A.J. Brown's rise to Super Bowl reminds us his trade didn't just change the Tennessee Titans
Revisiting A.J. Brown's trade from Titans to Eagles
The trade: The Titans traded Brown to the Eagles on April 28, 2022, in exchange for the No. 18 and No. 101 overall picks in the 2022 draft. The No. 18 pick was used to select Burks; the No. 101 pick was traded as a part of a deal that saw the Titans trade out of the first round with their original first pick.
Why did it happen? Brown was heading into the final season of his rookie deal in 2022, and his play well exceeded a second rounder's salary. The Titans and Brown negotiated.
How well did negotiations go? The Titans traded Brown, who signed a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Eagles after they acquired him.
The headline: "It feels like Tennessee Titans already have lost 2022 NFL Draft after A.J. Brown trade" - Tennessean columnist Gentry Estes' trade reaction headline on April 29, 2022.
The quote from Mike Vrabel: “I love A.J. personally. I know how Jon (Robinson, then-Titans GM) feels about him. But (I’m) very comfortable with how this went down and how Jon and I were able to navigate this. Support him in making decisions. Unfortunately, we understand that if we’re going to be here a while, we’re not going to be able to keep every player that we draft and develop.” (April 28)
The quote from Jon Robinson: "At the end of the day, I have to make the hard decisions. There’s a lot of things that impact those decisions. Certainly, the finances impact those decisions. Trying to get value when we can and that’s the decision we made today.” (April 28)
The quote from A.J. Brown: "I feel like regardless of how the trade and everything goes down, I feel like me personally, I feel like I've won." (Via ESPN in November)
Brown's 2022 season: Brown set an Eagles single-season team record with 1,496 receiving yards. He caught 88 passes in his first season in Philadelphia, including 11 touchdowns. Brown caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the Dec. 4 win over the Titans.
The Titans' 2022 season: Tennessee lost seven games in a row to end the season, missing the playoffs after losing in Jacksonville on Week 18. The nadir of the Titans' struggles happened in Week 13. Coming off a narrow home loss to Cincinnati, the Titans were blown out 35-10 in Philadelphia. Two days later, Tennessee fired Robinson. Six weeks later, they were home for the playoffs.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Reliving AJ Brown trade from Titans to Eagles before 2023 Super Bowl
