AFC Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Colts DT DeForest Buckner is excited about the addition of DE Yannick Ngakoue to their defense and mentioned that he’ll be able to help develop younger DEs like Dayo Odeyingbo, Kwity Paye, and Ben Banogu. 

“I was really excited in being able to add an elite rusher like Yannick,” Buckner said, via ProFootballTalk. “He brings a lot of things to the table. I saw a list of him with some Hall of Famers. Having a list of like first six seasons in the league and eight-plus sacks or something like that. He was with Reggie White and Aaron Donald — that’s an elite group. He can bring so many things to the table, even his leadership as a veteran to teach some of the young guys and coach up some of the young guys like Dayo [Odeyingbo] and Kwity [Paye] and even Ben [Banogu].”

Buckner thinks Ngakoue will free him up from double teams next season. 

“I’m excited about what he’s going to be able to bring to the table. Obviously, he can take some doubles off of me and make the quarterback step up a little bit.”

Jaguars

Jaguars DE Travon Walker feels “definitely prepared” for the pressure that comes with being the No. 1 overall pick. 

“I’m definitely prepared for it, the No. 1 pick,” Walker said, via ProFootballTalk. “I have to say there’s a lot of expectations behind that but it’s just the game of football to me. I’m just going to continue to do what I’ve been doing, giving my all to the game of football because that’s something that I love to do, and I’m not making it more pressure on myself than it should be.”

Titans

Titans GM Jon Robinson commented on trading WR A.J. Brown to the Eagles and described that they went “back and forth” about an extension for the receiver until deciding to deal him. 

“The decision we made today, it was a tough one,” Robinson said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s official site. “We really appreciate what A.J. has done here for our football team, on the field and in the community. We had discussions back and forth and we realized we got to the point where it was going to be hard to get a deal done (to keep him). So, the trade thing kind of manifested.”

Robinson mentioned that the “finances” toward an extension for Brown had an impact on their decision. 

“These are the decisions I am faced with, and they are hard decisions,” Robinson said. “There’s a lot of discussion that goes into them, a lot of thought that goes into them. At the end of the day, we have to make – I have to make – the hard decisions. And there’s a lot of things that impact those decisions. Certainly, the finances impact the decisions and trying to get value when we can. And that’s the decision we made today.”

Titans HC Mike Vrabel admitted that they are not financially able to retain all players that they develop.

“I love all of our players – I love A.J. personally,” Vrabel said. “I know how Jon feels about him. But I am very comfortable with how this went down and how Jon and I were able to navigate. I try to support him and make decisions. Unfortunately, we understand if we are going to be here a while, we are not going to be able to keep every single player that we draft and develop.”