A.J. Brown currently sits in contention for the most underpaid star entering the 2022 season.
The dynamic receiver is scheduled to make $3.986 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract. There are 43 receivers set to make more than that. Forty. Three.
Tennessee Titans GM Jon Robinson intends to change that at some point in the coming months. Robinson said Sunday from the NFL's Annual League Meeting that the two sides have had only preliminary talks on a contract extension but expect to ramp things up as the summer progresses.
"Right now, we are just trying to get through this free agency period, seeing where we've landed cap-wise," Robinson said, via the team's official website. "A.J. is an important part of what we do. He's a great teammate, he works hard, he's about what we're about. A.J. is a Titan and we want to keep A.J. a Titan. And that's part of our goal this offseason, or whenever that manifests itself, to come to an agreement to keep him around."
The 2019 second-round pick has become a force in three seasons in Tennessee. The 24-year-old Pro Bowler earned 2,995 yards and 24 TDs on 185 catches in three years. Injuries in 2021 kept Brown from three straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his career.
Robinson said he plans to keep Brown in Tennessee for the long haul.
"We get calls about players all the time – that's what GMs do," Robinson said. "I haven't received any of those calls (about A.J.), and if they do call, our intention is, A.J., we are going to keep him in Nashville. He is an important part of our offense."
Boasting devastating run-after-catch ability, with vice-grip hands in tight quarters, Brown is key to the Titans' passing attack. The offense struggled more in games sans Brown last season than when running back Derrick Henry was out.
The Titans added Robert Woods in a trade this offseason to pair with Brown. The duo, if healthy, could be one of the tops in the NFL. First, Tennessee plans to lock down Brown long term.
