Titans hold leverage in Brown situation

By Connor Byrne  |   Sunday, July 23, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Tennessee Titans
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Brown has drawn quite a bit of attention lately for officially requesting a trade. The former 1,000-yard back has seen fellow veteran Travis Henry get re-signed and the team select LenDale White in the second round of April's draft this offseason. That hasn't been too pleasing for Brown, who is still No. 1 on the depth chart. According to Brown, though, the writing's on the wall that he just won't get enough touches in Nashville.

In this situation it's good to be the Titans, since they have all the power. If the organization wants to deal Brown for a draft pick or another player, it can do so. Otherwise, the team can simply decide to keep its 6-3, 220-pounder.

After all, there's never been such a thing as a running back controversy in the National Football League. No matter who ends up the starter, the remainder of the Titans' locker room isn't likely to join one player and begin to dislike the other two, as tailback is a much different position than quarterback, where controversies lead to locker-room mutinies.

Even if the Titans wanted to deal Brown, they might not find themselves getting great value in return. Although the 25-year-old has demonstrated flashes of brilliance in his three-year career, he's been more inconsistent and injury-prone than anything else.

In 2005, Brown played in a career-high 15 games, but saw his yard-per-carry average hit a career-low 3.8. Prior to last season, the former Colorado Buffalo appeared in 22 of a possible 32 contests - not a good number by any stretch of the imagination.

Brown's sophomore season in the pros, 2004, was certainly his best to date. In just 11 games, the former third-round pick racked up career-bests in yards (1,067), yards per carry (4.9) and rushing touchdowns (six). At the same time, however, he fumbled the ball a total of six times and lost four, which didn't please Titans head coach Jeff Fisher.

The frontrunners to land Brown's services are believed to be the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos.

The Texans' backfield situation is a mess right now, with No. 1 runner Domanick Davis injured and 34-year-old journeyman Antowain Smith set to take the reins. Meanwhile, the Broncos' top back is speed-demon Tatum Bell, but their cupboard is quite bare after that.

During training camp and preseason, the gap between Brown and the Tennessee Titans will continue playing out, but general manager Floyd Reese is in a good place. If Brown did want to go elsewhere, he wouldn't help his own cause at all by holding out, so he'll likely have to be a good soldier and deal with less touches.

At worst, the runner-in his contract year-will play one more season in the "Music City" and head somewhere with a less crowded backfield for 2007 and beyond.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

For more on Chris Brown, stay tuned to Realfootball365.com
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Connor Byrne

...Sorry, Connor Byrne's bio is currently not available. Please check back soon!
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report