The Titans' past receiver woes resurface with a potential A.J. Brown trade. Is it a second chance or a costly repeat mistake?
Tennessee Titans fans have mixed feelings about A.J. Brown's time in Nashville.
He was drafted out of Ole Miss in the 2019 NFL Draft. He got off to a hot start, finishing with 1,051 receiving yards as a rookie.
He had another 1,000-yard season in 2020. Brown wasn't able to play a full season in 2020 or 2021 due to lingering knee injuries. He had 869 receiving yards in the 2021 season.
Then came a moment that many Titans fans haven't fully recovered from.
The General Manager at the time, Jon Robinson, decided to trade Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft. In return, the Titans got the 18th and 101st overall picks.
The Titans' solution? Drafting Treylon Burks out of Arkansas.
That move haunted the organization for many years, as Brown has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards each year he's been with the Eagles.
To make things worse, the Titans played the Eagles in the 2022 season. The Eagles embarrassed the Titans at Lincoln Financial Field, 35-10, and Brown used a towel to hit the goal post and then hugged it as a nod towards his former team.
Meanwhile, the Titans released Burks in October after he wasn't able to complete a full season in the Music City.
Burks spent most of last season with the Washington Commanders and had 130 receiving yards and one touchdown.
The debacle with Brown added to the purgatory that the Titans have been in at receiver.
Now, Matt Okada of NFL.com has released a trade package that would send Brown back to the Titans. Tennessee would send a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick to Philadelphia for Brown and a 2026 fifth-round pick.
The Titans should want nothing to do with this move.
Since joining the Eagles, Brown has complained about his involvement in the offense, despite finishing with over 1,000 receiving yards each year he's been in Philadelphia.
During the 2025 season, he joined a popular Madden streamer's chat during a livestream and said that anyone who had him in Fantasy Football should drop him.
On top of that, I'm not a fan of the picks that the Titans are giving up in that trade proposal. Tennessee has no business sending their first-rounder from next year and a 2026 second-rounder for Brown.
Do the Titans have a perfect receiver room as it stands? Absolutely not.
Calvin Ridley has yet to live up to his four-year, $92 million contract. Wan'Dale Robinson showed a lot of promise with the New York Giants, but there's no guarantee he'll put up identical numbers with the Titans.
At the end of the day, the pros don't outweigh the cons in a trade that would reunite Brown with a franchise that is still recovering after that fateful trade on Draft Day.
The Titans need as many picks as they can while they build for the future and try to turn this team around.
Tennessee will be a lot better off without going through the Brown drama again.