MMQB: Titans GM Told Eagles GM He 'Loved' A.J. Brown, Wouldn’t Be Looking to Trade WR

While Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson eventually acquiesced and traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles, it wasn't a move he wanted to make.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Robinson repeatedly told Eagles general manager Howie Roseman that he "loved" Brown and was not planning to move the wideout. However, Brown and the Titans reached an impasse in contract extension talks and the tune changed ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.

The Eagles and Titans agreed to a framework of a trade Wednesday that would send Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for the No. 18 and 101 picks in the draft; all that remained was the wideout and his new team reaching a contract extension. Brown and the Eagles landed on a four-year, $100 million contract, allowing the trade to move forward.

"This wasn't my fault," Brown told ESPN's Turron Davenport. "I wanted to stay, but the deal they offered was a low offer. The deal they offered wasn't even $20 million a year."

Brown said the Titans offered him only $16 million per season with incentives that would have taken the deal to $20 million annually. He demurred at what he felt was a lowball offer, saying the lowest he would take is $22 million.

The Eagles ponied up $25 million per year in new money, making the decision to move on quite easy from a financial perspective. Brown will now combine with second-year wideout Devonta Smith to give Philadelphia one of the NFL's youngest, most dynamic receiving groups in the NFL.

The Titans used the No. 18 pick on Treylon Burks, a receiver who was often compared to Brown during the predraft process. Burks' arrival gives the Titans a bit of breathing room in the short term from a salary-cap perspective but likely will force them to take a step back in 2022 in the passing game.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have given Jalen Hurts enough weapons that they should be able to make a decision about his long-term viability as a starting quarterback after next season.