Titans Release Treylon Burks, Fans Roast Team For Horrible AJ Brown Trade
Burks caught one TD pass in three years, while Brown is a Super Bowl Champion
The Tennessee Titans trading wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft might not be as bad as the Herschel Walker deal in 1989, but it's close. In exchange for Brown, Tennessee received two draft picks, one of which was used to select Treylon Burks in the first round of the '22 draft.
On Monday, the team released Burks, who suffered a collarbone injury over the weekend. Burks' career with the Titans came to an ignominious end, as the oft-injured receiver recorded just 52 catches for 699 yards and one touchdown in three seasons with the team – and the majority of those stats were accumulated during his rookie season (33 receptions for 444 yards and a TD). Burks missed 24 games due to injury, including 12 last season.
The Tennessee Titans released wide receiver Treylon Burks, the player they selected in the 2022 NFL Draft after trading AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
(Imagn Images)
By contrast, AJ Brown has remained one of the best wideouts in the NFL. In his three seasons with the Eagles, Brown has amassed 261 catches for 4,031 yards and 25 touchdowns. Oh, and he won the Super Bowl with Philadelphia in February, while also receiving All-Pro honors in each season. To put this in even further perspective, Brown had more catches (59), receiving yards (924) and touchdowns (5) from Weeks 6-16 last season than Burks had in his entire three-year Titans career.
The trade was nothing short of a disaster for the Tennessee Titans, a team that went 32-17 in Brown's three seasons with the franchise (three playoff appearances, including an AFC Championship berth). Since trading Brown and drafting Burks, Tennessee is 16-35 (zero playoff appearances).
Of course, fans (including OutKick founder and Tennessee native Clay Travis) aren't going to quickly forgive the Titans' front office for their mistake.
Now, to be fair to the Titans, the pickings were slim for wide receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Drake London, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were all selected before the Titans picked at 18th. The only decent receiver taken in that draft in the first three rounds – excluding the picks before Tennessee was on the clock – was George Pickens.
Of course, Pickens is extremely talented, but brought many headaches to the Pittsburgh Steelers, so they traded him to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason.
Still, why trade A.J. Brown in the first place? The team already had an elite receiver. Is Brown a diva? Sure. Most top-level receivers are. But would you rather have diva A.J. Brown or nice guy Treylon Burks? That question is rhetorical because the answer is obvious.