It’s holdout season in the NFL with disgruntled stars aplenty throughout the league. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Titans receiver A.J. Brown was absent for the start of OTAs on Monday, a line in the sand many interpreted as a silent protest of sorts.
Brown joins Washington counterpart Terry McLaurin and Niners jack-of-all-trades Deebo Samuel in playing hooky this week, letting their respective teams sweat amid tense contract negotiations. Brown went a step further by removing all mention of the Titans from his Twitter bio, implying the 24-year-old is open for business.
Brown’s snub of Tennessee is par for the course in today’s age of internet passive aggression, following the path laid out by Kyler Murray and other emerging talents waiting on their next payday. Social media slights, though admittedly petty, tend to get the message across, conveying to teams exactly where they stand. A two-time 1,000-yard receiver with 26 touchdowns (24 receiving, one rushing, one kickoff return) on his NFL resume, Brown is due a $3.986-million salary in 2022. That’s tied for 41st in the league among wide receivers.
Brown’s no-show from voluntary workouts (he won’t incur a fine until mandatory minicamp in June) was no doubt influenced by recent contracts signed by Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs, all of whom are making at least $26 million annually. While the Titans, led by former Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry, rely on their ground game more than most, Brown adds a much-needed element of balance, allowing Tennessee to stretch the field vertically (career 16.2 yards per catch).
As Samuel discovered in decidedly unpleasant fashion last week, there are consequences to having your contract saga play out publicly, with Brown reacting to the narrative shift, acknowledging the vitriol from fans who have framed him as a “diva” and a “bad teammate” for the mere act of standing his ground. Ideally, Brown would stay in Tennessee and we’d all live happily ever after. However, blind loyalty is an unfair expectation in a ruthless sport with limited earning opportunities, particularly when teams routinely shortchange players with insulting low-ball offers, feeding them to the wolves the moment they become expendable.
As alluded to by ESPN’s Dianna Russini, the Titans are optimistic of signing Brown to a deal that would keep him in Nashville for a “long time.” Though until they arrive at a place of compromise, expect there to be plenty of hostility between the two sides.
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