The Tennessee Titans could be one of the best free agent destinations for Tom Brady if he doesn't return to the New England Patriots, and one of the team's most talented young players spoke candidly about that possibility on Monday.
Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown, who's coming off an impressive rookie season in 2019, was asked about the Brady-Titans rumors during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. Brown began his answer with praise for Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, then quickly explained how cool it would be to interact with Brady.
LIVE stream the Celtics all season and get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App
“Of course, we would want Ryan back, of course,” Brown said. “I’ve got chemistry with him already, so, going into Year 2, I feel like it would just grow more. But unfortunately, if things don’t go as planned and we get Tom Brady or whatever, like, who wouldn’t want to play with Tom Brady?
I’m just going to be honest. He knows how to do it. He’s won Super Bowls, and I really want to be around him. Even if I don’t play with him, I just want to have a conversation with him and try to pick his brain and see how he does things. But if we’re fortunate enough to get Tom Brady this year, that would be insane. But regardless of whoever we get, I just want them just to kinda hurry up so I can know who my quarterback will be this upcoming year.
Tannehill saved the Titans' 2019 season after head coach Mike Vrabel made him the starting quarterback and benched Marcus Mariota. Tennessee went 7-3 to finish the regular season with Tannehill at the helm, and he helped lead the franchise to the AFC Championship Game after playoff upsets against the Patriots and Baltimore Ravens on the road.
Similar to Brady, Tannehill is able to become an unrestricted free agent when the market opens March 18. The difference is Tannehill can be franchised, and the Titans have until Thursday's 4 p.m. ET deadline to decide whether to use the franchise tag on the 31-year-old quarterback. Brady cannot be franchised and will become a UFA for the first time in his career March 18 unless he reaches an agreement with the Patriots before that date. Once a decision is made with Tannehill, we'll get a better sense of whether the Titans are a realistic landing spot for Brady.
New England Patriots
From a football perspective, the Titans are a nice fit for Brady. They have a good offensive line, quality tight ends, some talented wide receivers and the league's leading rusher from last season in running back Derrick Henry (who's also a free agent). He also has a good relationship with Vrabel, who spent eight seasons as Brady's teammate in New England from 2001 through 2008.
The Titans were really close to reaching the Super Bowl last season, and with Brady in the fold, they would definitely be among the favorites to win the AFC in 2020.
