Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was on 3HL just a few minutes ago and pretty much shot down the dream (for some people) of Antonio Brown wearing Titans two-toned blue this fall: Ian Rapoport tells @3HL1045 regarding Antonio Brown trade: "Probably in the next 24 to 48 hours. Three new teams in, Cardinals and Jets out, more teams just monitoring, the Tennessee Titans being one of them monitoring." — Allan Bell (@AllanBell247) March 6, 2019 Rapoport basically said that the Titans called to check in and bowed out pretty quickly once the price got to a place where they weren’t comfortable. That leads me to believe that the Steelers are going to get at least a first round pick for Brown. Jon Robinson will get blasted on Twitter for not making this move when it is announced. I am perfectly fine with Robinson not wanting to give up the Titans first for Brown- who, as I have said numerous times, is a great player but not the same guy he once was. Oh, and he is a freaking nightmare in the locker room. My guess is that we are hearing Brown will be wearing Silver and Black pretty soon.<doc-sep>The Tennessee Titans are one of three NFL teams that have shown the “most interest” in wide receiver Antonio Brown, per a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Also according to Schefter, the Steelers have set the asking price for Brown at a first round pick. The team originally wanted “other compensation” as well, but has since dropped that part of the deal. The three teams that have shown the most interest in wide receiver Antonio Brown to date are the Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans, per league sources. Thus, the battle for Brown could develop into a battle between Grudens, Jon and Jay. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2019 The news comes as a bit of a surprise to some, considering that some of Brown’s off-the-field drama doesn’t exactly align with the culture general manager Jon Robinson has set in Tennessee. Head coach Mike Vrabel also implied the Titans may not be interested in Brown when he met with the media earlier in the week. It’s a curious situation, and it’s just as possible the Titans could be locked in on Brown as they could also simply be evaluating every available option — even those who may pose a high risk factor. It will ultimately be Robinson’s call on if he wants to take a chance on Brown as the Titans prepare to make moves in the 2019 offseason.<doc-sep>I don’t flip flop on many things, but I have found myself going back and forth on the Titans acquiring Antonio Brown. So I thought I would just write a post with all of my thoughts on the subject. I still don’t know how I feel about the subject completely, and I have no idea if this post will come to a conclusion on it or not. We talked about it on last night’s Locked On Titans. You can listen to that discussion here. Let’s get a few things out of the way first off- Yes, he is a million times better than anything the Titans currently have on the roster. Yes, he would give the Titans some swagger in the receiver room that they really do need. Yes, he is a complete shift in what they have done at wide receiver since Jon Robinson took over as the GM. With all of that being said, the baggage here cannot be ignored. He quit on his team last year with a week to go when they still had playoff hopes (I know it was a long-shot, but they were technically still alive). Brown destroyed a locker room so much that everyone in their building went on record talking about how bad he was. They didn’t even care about torpedoing his trade value. You also cannot overlook the fact that he will be 31 years old when the 2019 season kicks off. It is safe to say that his best football is behind him. Now, see above that where he is now is still a ton better than anything the Titans have, but I think expecting him to come in here and be the best receiver in football is a little bit foolish. Don’t believe me? Read this from Matthew Freedman of The Action Network. There is a lot of good stuff in there. There is also the fact that Brown is on record saying he wants a new deal. You can live with the cap numbers that he currently has, but he wants more. How much are you willing to invest in a 31 year old wider receiver? So apparently I have come to a conclusion. If the Titans can trade a day 2 pick for Brown and he is happy with his current contract, then I think it is a deal they should do. HOWEVA, since we know that he isn’t happy with his current contract, this is probably something they should pass on. What do you think?<doc-sep>NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) What should a realistic trade offer for Antonio Brown look like? I knew that Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson was looking to make a big move at the trade deadline this year, but news that he is interested in Antonio Brown is genuinely shocking. The news doesn’t shock me because of any off the field, locker room stuff. I have said before that there is no way for me to know how much of that drama is real and what is all fake. I trust that if the Titans are considering this that they have talked to people inside the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. I said this on Twitter earlier, but there is no way Robinson even sniffs at a deal if he hasn’t had someone in the front office or on the coaching staff call Mike Munchak (who was with Antonio Brown for five years) and get the inside info on him as a player. So, if we believe that the Tennessee Titans really are ready to make a big move what could it be? First of all, let’s talk about the other two teams mentioned: the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins. Both have higher picks than the Titans, but don’t make any mistake the Titans can have the best offer. The Oakland Raiders aren’t going to trade the 4th overall pick, that just isn’t happening. So the next best option is a move from 4th to 20th. In my opinion, if you are doing that, you are shooting yourself in the foot and taking yourself out of range of some truly outstanding prospects. If I were making an offer, the best I can do with what they have is probably giving up the 27th pick for him and trying to get back a Day 3 pick. With how public this breakup has been I don’t see anyone outright giving up a 1st for Brown. The Redskins can’t offer the 15th overall pick because they are in desperate need of a QB. What are they going to do with Antonio Brown and Colt McCoy? That isn’t going to work and they don’t have the cap space to pay for Alex Smith AND a free agent QB. Washington’s only logical solution is to take a QB in the 1st round and maybe even try and move up to get one. So their best offer would be the 46th overall pick outright. So, if the Steelers main goal is to get another 1st round pick then the Titans are their best option because like I said, unless the Raiders give up the 4th overall pick then 19 is as high as they can get. But I also said that no one is going to give the Steelers first round value with their trades. The Titans could make this offer and be very compelling: Tennessee Titans receive: Antonio Brown and the 52nd overall pick Pittsburgh Steelers receive: 19th overall pick So the Titans get Brown and a 2nd and the Steelers get back to back picks in the 1st round. Doing a Fanspeak mock draft with that trade, here is the potential first three rounds of the draft for the Titans. 2nd round, pick 51: Chase Winovich EDGE, Michigan 2nd round, pick 52: Chris Lindstrom OG, Boston College 3rd round, pick 82: Michael Deiter OL, Wisconsin So, the Titans get their star WR in Brown the fill the biggest hole with Winovich on the EDGE. After that they double up on interior protection knowing that Lindstrom can play either guard spot and that Deiter has experience all over the line after amassing a ton of starts for Wisconsin.<doc-sep>
Last night Adam Schefter broke the story that the Titans are 1 of 3 teams that the most active in the pursuit of Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown. The other two teams in the mix are the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins. That wasn’t something that I was expecting to break as I was falling asleep on the couch watching New Amsterdam. Let’s take a look at what acquiring Antonio Brown would cost the Titans from the perspective of his contract. My good friend Zach, who runs the Football and other F Words Twitter account, posted an excellent breakdown of the remaining years on Brown’s contract: Here’s everything you need to know for IF the #Titans trade for Mr. Big Chest, @AB84! How it affects the #Steelers and it affects us. Simplified here is his cap hit: Pre-March 17th: 19: 15.125m 20: 11.3m 21: 12m Post-March 17th: 19: 12.625m 20: 11.3m 21: 12m Let’s get him pic.twitter.com/lcGCgumII5 — Football ...and other F words (@FWordsPod) March 2, 2019 That number is by no means going to break the Titans in 2019 or beyond. The more I think about the Titans acquiring Brown, the most I like it. The biggest issue remaining for me is how does he fit in the Titans locker room. That part of it does worry me quite a bit with everything that has gone down in Pittsburgh, but I do think that is something that Mike Vrabel could manage. As someone pointed out on Twitter (I can’t find it now), Vrabel was with the Patriots when they traded for Randy Moss back in 2007 under pretty similar circumstances. He saw how that was managed and could implement a similar plan here. Oh, and the Patriots got Moss for a 4th. If Jon Robinson could pull that off....