There’s no denying A.J. Brown is in a better place more than three years after a shocking draft night trade that sent him from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The same can’t really be said for the man tabbed to replace Brown as the next great Titans receiver.
Brown was already a star when Tennessee decided to move on from him at the 2022 draft. The Ole Miss product was coming off a season in which he caught 63 passes for 869 yards in just 13 games after putting up two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career. Instead of extending Brown on a potentially record-breaking deal, the Titans decided to maximize his potential return and shipped him to Philadelphia for a first- and third-round pick.
Brown immediately got his extension, a four-year, $100 million whopper. The Titans seemingly got their succession plan. They used that first-round pick, No. 18 overall, to draft Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks.
A.J. Brown Trade One of Most Lopsided Deals in NFL History
Brown has made the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons with Philly. He was a major piece of the Eagles’ Super Bowl win last season. Burks, meanwhile, couldn’t stay healthy. He played 11 games his rookie season, 11 more in Year 2, and he appeared in just five games in 2024. He caught four passes for 34 yards last season, and Tennessee cut him in late July.
For the Titans, it’s one of the worst trades in NFL history.
Reflecting on the career- and life-changing move, Brown admitted in a recent appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast that he feels a little bad how things went down — at least for Burks.
“I am a little sad for Treylon Burks,” Brown admitted on the podcast. “I wish he could get healthy. He’s a good kid, and I’ve talked to him numerous times, I’ve got his number, and it just sucks to see it go down like that.”
A.J. Brown Trade Ripple Effect Still Felt Across NFL
That trade had a major ripple effect that’s still being felt to this day. Most notably, it might have ended up costing multiple people their jobs. Former general manager Jon Robinson lost his job at the end of that year. He has since admitted he’d like a do-over, as one might expect.
Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel also felt the implications of that deal. War room cameras showed a seemingly peeved Vrabel when the deal went down, and when the Titans fired Robinson, there was plenty of speculation that it was largely the culmination of a power struggle between coach and GM that Vrabel ultimately won.
Of course, that didn’t last long. The Titans went 6-11 in 2023 with the NFL’s No. 27 scoring offense and Vrabel was sent packing. Now the head coach of the New England Patriots, Vrabel largely side-stepped the topic in a recent podcast appearance of his own, though admitting on “Bussin’ With the Boys” he was “disappointed” with how things went down.
Brown, though, comes out the big winner. He has his numbers, he has his ring, and he already has gotten an extension on top of his original Eagles deal.
“I’m grateful that happened, and I like to say I outgrew that situation in Tennessee,” he said on the podcast. “I’m glad this happened. I feel like I was meant to shine, and we needed a big team with a big market, and I think this is the right place and best fit for me.”
The Titans, on the other hand, were forced to shell out more than $90 million for a No. 1 receiver, signing Calvin Ridley prior to the 2024 season. He was very good in his first season in Nashville albeit with production that still isn’t quite what Brown has brought to the table.
