While Thursday was a special day for the Tennessee Titans and one of their franchise greats, Jurrell Casey, who retired, there was one thing Casey admitted that no doubt made us sad.
During his retirement press conference, Casey admitted that he begged Titans general manager Jon Robinson not to trade him to the Denver Broncos, as he wanted to finish his career in Tennessee.
At the time, the trade, which netted the Titans a seventh-round pick in what was a pure salary dump, angered both Casey and fans alike. The former lineman equated the deal to being discarded “like a piece of trash.”
Of course, in situations like these you’ll always hear that “the NFL is a business,” and while that’s certainly true, it never makes it any easier.
Jurrell Casey jokes he didn't want to go to Denver and said he actually begged Jon Robinson not to trade him. Wanted to spend his career as a #Titans player.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) September 2, 2021
We can’t totally fault Robinson for making the deal, though. The Titans needed cap space and had an up-and-coming player in Jeffery Simmons ready to take Casey’s spot. We weren’t thrilled, but understood it.
On the bright side, Casey says things have since been patched up between he and Robinson, and he was nothing but grateful for the franchise giving him an opportunity to play all those years.
“I love the Titans organization – that was never a doubt in my mind,” Casey said, via Ben Arthur of The Tennessean. “They drafted me, and they gave me an opportunity in life. You sometimes have bad feelings about things, but like I told (GM) Jon Robinson when I told him I wanted to retire a Titan, I told him I apologize for the comments I made, those were my feelings at the time, but not every feeling needs to be said to the public. I should have held on to it, knowing this is a business. It wasn’t personal, and they did me a favor at the end of the day by trading me and giving me a chance to keep playing and making money for my family.
“But the Titans, they gave me the blessing to be here. … I was upset at the time (when I was traded), but that doesn’t change the fact I love the Tennessee Titans and I will always love them. I will be a Titan forever.”
We wish things could have ended differently, but that doesn’t change what Casey meant to this franchise for nine years, and what he will continue to mean to it forever.
