The Titans cutting Treylon Burks locks in the A.J. Brown trade as an all-time blunder
Burks, the team's first-round wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft, has struggled mightily with injuries throughout his career. His recent fractured collarbone must have been the last straw for Tennessee.
It's not Burks fault that he can't stay on the field, and his career trajectory is a tragic one to be sure. However, what the Titans did to acquire him will forever haunt the franchise. Trading away wide receiver A.J. Brown, who just won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, is one of the great self-inflicted blunders of modern NFL times.
As Fox Sports' Greg Auman notes, Brown's production (261 receptions, 4,031 yards and 25 touchdowns) blows away what Burks has been able to gain in his three seasons of limited availability (53 receptions, 599 yards, a lone touchdown).
It doesn't take an expert to see the devastating discrepancies in production between the two players.
The Titans return from the trade gave them three players that have now been cut (Burks, tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and wideout Kyle Phillips) and starting slot cornerback Roger McCreary. McCreary is a solid player, but the rest of the return from this seismic trade is now out of Music City altogether.
Brown is a superstar for Philadelphia and played an integral role in bringing another Lombardi to the City of Brotherly Love. Trading Brown basically sparked the end of the Mike Vrabel-Ryan Tannehill-Derrick Henry era of Titans success, and Burks is now the unfair poster child for why you don't trade proven talent for an unproven rookie.
This Titans front office is the second since general manager Jon Robinson orchestrated the Brown trade in 2022. He lost his job later that year after the Titans slid into a ditch after three seasons of inspired play. It wasn't on this Tennessee regime to keep Burks around, particularly with a new injury. His cut is just a cruel facet of the business, as the Titans have a lot of young receivers to pair with new quarterback Cam Ward. The future has already started.
Burks will probably latch on with a new team for a second chance, and it's hard not to root for him with what he's gone through. He didn't ask to be part of one of the worst NFL trades of the decade so far. You could argue this trade was worse than what the Denver Broncos gave up to get quarterback Russell Wilson. The Broncos eventually figured it out; the Titans have not just yet. Ward is their best chance to finally move past all of this.
Nevertheless, the Eagles will fondly remember the night they got Brown. The Titans will forever regret pulling the level to send one of their best players away for an unproven talent. Their disastrous decision will forever stand as a painful cautionary tale for the rest of the league. Sometimes, you just have to pay your guys (hello, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys). The grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Video Of NFL Star Jaycee Horn's Car Crash Has Emerged
Video Of NFL Star Jaycee Horn's Car Crash Has Emerged originally appeared on The Spun. The Carolina Panthers had to practice without star cornerback Jaycee Horn this Wednesday. That's because he was involved in a car accident. Although the accident isn't expected to keep Horn off the field for long, he will miss the team's preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns. The coaching staff revealed that Horn is dealing with a left thumb injury. "I'm glad that Jaycee was OK," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "He did have to have a few stitches in his left thumb area. So they got that all cleaned up and sutured up. ... It doesn't seem like anything else happened, but you know we're just gonna kind of evaluate him each day." Horn went on social media to reassure fans that he's doing fine. The South Carolina product wrote, "I'm straight ! Nun major thank god." On Wednesday night, footage of the alleged accident involving Horn surfaced on Instagram. The video that's going viral appears to show a Mercedes-Maybach SUV crashing into a pickup truck in Charlotte. Check it out: Horn, the No. 8 pick from the 2021 NFL Draft, has racked up 153 total tackles, 26 pass break-ups and five interceptions since going pro. The Panthers signed Horn to a four–year, $100 million extension earlier this offseason. His deal included $46 million. Suffice to say, Carolina wants its $100 million cornerback on the field for Week 1. Video Of NFL Star Jaycee Horn's Car Crash Has Emerged first appeared on The Spun on Aug 7, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Hollywood Brown returns to State Farm Stadium as member of Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs' only former Cardinals player is Hollywood Brown, but he won't likely play in the preseason opener. The Arizona Cardinals will face the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason opener Saturday night at State Farm Stadium at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. Arizona time). It will be a bit of a homecoming for one former Cardinals player. Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown will be returning to State Farm Stadium since he signed with Kansas City last offseason. Brown played two seasons for the Cardinals. They acquired him in a draft-day trade in 2022. In two seasons, he played in 24 games, missing eight games to different injuries, caught 118 passes for 1,283 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He is the only former Cardinals player on the Chiefs' offseason roster. However, Brown might not get to play. He has been nursing an ankle injury he suffered last week. The Chiefs starters will start the game against the Cardinals starters, but we shouldn't expect to see Brown suit up. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Former Giants lineman Dave Gallagher, who quit football to become a surgeon, dead at 73
A former Giants defensive tackle and first-round draft pick who left the team in the 1970s to become an orthopedic surgeon has died at age 73. Dave Gallagher died at his Columbus, Ind. home on January 20, according to his online obituary published on August 4. A cause of death was not announced. Gallagher played two seasons with the Giants from 1975 to 1976, but was unhappy about being benched and returned to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to pursue his doctorate in medicine during his offseasons. Advertisement 'To bench me, and in effect end my career, and then tell me not to take it personally, that's stupid,' Gallagher told the New York Times in 1977. 4 Defensive end Dave Gallagher #76 of the Chicago Bears watches from the sideline against the San Diego Chargers at San Diego Stadium on December 8, 1974 in San Diego, California. NFL The turn from football to the rigors of the medical field wasn't completely out of nowhere — Gallagher wanted to be a doctor just like his father since he was young. Advertisement 'It wasn't so much that I knew what a doctor did, how he cared for people when they were sick, it was just that I admired my father so much and saw the respect he got from the community,' he said. Before joining the Giants, Gallagher had been a standout for the Wolverines in the early 1970s. During his time at Michigan, the Wolverines went 40-3-1, winning Big Ten titles from 1971-73. 'I narrowed down my college choices to Duke, Northwestern and Michigan because they all had excellent medical schools,' Gallagher told NFL Player Engagement. Advertisement 'Why did I choose Michigan? For one thing, it was hard in those days for anyone to say 'No' to Coach [Bo] Schembechler.' In his last season, he had 83 tackles and was a 1973 consensus first-team All-American. He was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten member. He was inducted into Michigan's Hall of Honor in 2018. 4 New York Giants defensive back defensive end Dave Gallagher (71) tries to block a pass from St. Louis Cardinals quarterback Jim Hart (17) at Shea Stadium. US PRESSWIRE The Bears selected Gallagher in the first round of the 1974 NFL Draft, one pick in front of legendary wide receiver Lynn Swann, who went to the Steelers. Advertisement Gallagher was traded to the Giants after starting in 11 games for Chicago in his rookie season. 'I'm not a naturally gifted athlete,' Gallagher told the Times. 'And I've always worked hard for what I accomplished. But at each stage of my career, I knew I had to get better. When I was going to high school from junior high, to college from high school, I knew I had to improve. That worked in high school and college. 4 Rams' running back John Cappelletti, the former Heisman winner, is dragged down by a shirt tackle as he tried to circle the New York Giants' left side in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 26, 1976. Giant linebacker Brad Van Pelt pulls him down. At right is New York's Dave Gallagher. AP 'But in the pros, they expected No. 1 draft choices to be great right off the bat. I was never that way. I don't think I received the coaching for me to improve.' In his first game with the Giants, Gallagher sacked Eagles quarterback Mike Boryla twice in a New York victory. But after his first season with the Giants, Gallagher was moved from left end to left tackle, where he was undersized. He was benched halfway through the season, a slog that saw the Giants begin 0-9 and finish 3-11. 'Making a 43-man roster isn't enough, especially on a team that's 3‐11,' Gallagher said. 'I've always been a very ambitious person. Being the best is important. I think if the Giants had had a good year and if I had had a great. season I'd be coming back.' 4 Baltimore Colts quarterback Bert Jones (7) threads his pass past New York Giants defensive end Dave Gallagher (71) during a 21-0 Colts victory on December 7, 1975, at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. NFL Advertisement And in a way, it seemed like Gallagher was already angling for a new direction in life. He had it in his rookie contract that his team would pay for two semesters of medical school. Though he called pro football 'an interlude' he would return to play for the Lions from 1978-79. He retired from professional football in 1979, when he was 27 years old. He later moved his family to Indiana, where he was an orthopedic surgeon with the Southern Indiana Orthopedics group. Gallagher also coached youth football when his sons began playing in the fourth grade. Advertisement 'I realize that when you coach for the first time you tend to over-coach,' Gallagher said. 'I found myself doodling plays on napkins having more X's and O's than I had 4th grade players most of the time,' but added, 'Football is a great way to mentor kids.' Gallagher's loved ones will hold a service to 'honor his life' on August 19. He is survived by his former wife Carole, two children, five grandchildren and brother.
