After Deebo Samuel agreed to his contract extension with the 49ers late last month, Eagles wideout A.J. Brown responded with a tweet that referenced the offseason trade that sent him from Tennessee to Philadelphia.
Brown and Samuel were both drafted in 2019, which is the same draft that featured Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf and Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin. Those players signed contract extensions this offseason and Brown signed one with the Eagles, which led Brown to write that “basically all 4 of us got the same contract and I’m the only one got traded” before adding “yeah keep believing it was me.”
That comment was a response to those who pushed a narrative that Brown’s push for a contract forced his way off of the Titans and Brown had more to say on that topic during an interview with Tom Pelissero of NFL Media on Thursday.
“You know, it’s a business, and I’m not upset about the trade or anything because it is a business or whatever,” Brown said. “But to be honest, I just didn’t appreciate how it all went down, and they just kind of blamed me for it. I’m man enough to say that, however people may take it. But I have no bad blood with Tennessee. I’m moving forward. I’m happy to be here. But [there are] a lot of things people don’t know about, and they’re just pointing fingers at me. But that’s OK.”
Brown cancelled a football camp in Tennessee in May and said he would not “put myself in a place where my peace is going to be threatened by adults who feel a way because I was traded,” so this isn’t the first time that the fallout from the deal has been a topic of conversation. The start of the season should push it further into the rearview mirror, although a Week 13 date with the Titans is sure to feature a lot of focus on Brown meeting up with his former team.
