Axios Nashville

The Titans are on the short list of teams that could be in play for future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady this offseason.

State of play: Neither quarterback has said if they will retire or return to play another season. But if they come back, the Titans are seen by analysts as a possible landing spot.

• Brady is a free agent and therefore able to sign with any team he chooses. Rodgers is under contract to the Green Bay Packers, but if he returns, a trade is possible.

Why it matters: The Titans regressed this season with an array of injuries and a passing game that failed to compensate for the loss of A.J. Brown.

• The theory is that a top-tier quarterback like Rodgers or Brady would provide a needed jolt.
• Rodgers and Brady are two of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history, with MVP trophies, Super Bowl titles and many passing records under their belts.

Rodgers and Brady are also two of the league's most marketable stars.

• Between their corporate sponsorship deals and intensely scrutinized off-field lives, few players can move the financial needle for a franchise like they can.

By the numbers: Oddsmakers are warming to the possibility that Rodgers and Brady could be on the move.

• Bookies.com set the odds that Rodgers returns to the Packers, where he's played his entire career, at 30.8%. Should Rodgers be traded from Green Bay, the Titans are the fourth most-likely landing spot with a 9.1% chance of coming to Nashville.
• The odds of acquiring Brady are slightly worse. The Titans are the eighth most-likely landing spot, according to betting odds from DraftKings.

What's happening: ESPN reporter Adam Schefter added fuel to the fire when he reported last week that if Rodgers is traded, it would be to an AFC team like the Titans.

• "I don't think there's any way the Packers would trade him in the NFC. And if they do go ahead and trade him, it would be to the AFC. So start having all the fun you want with all the teams in the AFC that need quarterbacks."

The latest: During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" yesterday, Schefter doubled down on the possibility Rodgers could be traded during this offseason. Schefter listed the Titans as one of the AFC possibilities.

Of note: Rodgers reportedly purchased property in Williamson County a year ago.

Yes, but: The Titans already have a starting quarterback under contract in Ryan Tannehill. Considering their multiple needs at receiver and offensive line, it may make more financial sense to upgrade the offense in those areas and keep Tannehill.

• Acquiring Rodgers would cost the Titans a draft choice and a deal comes with complicated salary cap implications. At 45 years old, Brady is already the oldest quarterback in NFL history so trading for him could be a one-season stopgap.

Share this story

💼 Check out who's hiring on our Job Board.

1. Manager, Communications & Member Events at Tennessee Business Roundtable.
2. Sales Engineer, Enterprise at Snowflake.
3. Director, Validation & Metrology at August Bioservices.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires will serve as ambassadors for Record Store Day 2023.

Why it matters: Record Store Day celebrates vinyl records and independent record stores with exclusive record releases.

• In Nashville, Record Store Day has become a crosstown event with shops like Grimey's, the Groove and Third Man hosting minifestivals featuring concerts, food and beer trucks and seas of music nerds.

State of play: It's the second year in a row a Nashville artist was given the honor. Last year's ambassador was Taylor Swift.

• In a social media video announcement, Isbell told the story of Shires buying him a vinyl copy of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814" while the couple was on tour last year.
• Isbell said his parents bought him the record when he was a kid. "I still remember every word and every dance move," he said.

What he's saying: "We think that record stores are important, not only to the musicians who play in them like Amanda did so many times this year and I've done in the past, but also to communities and people who love music and people who love art and people who love each other," Isbell said in the video.

Record Store Day will take place April 22.

Share this story

🐟 The sickle darter fish is the latest of Tennessee's aquatic wildlife to fade away. (WPLN)

📓 Sports journalist and author Jemele Hill is coming to Vanderbilt University tomorrow. (Tennessean)

🦠 More than 267,000 birds were killed after an avian flu hit a West Tennessee chicken farm. (Tennessee Lookout)

Pullman Standard, a new cocktail lounge that opened last week in Cummins Station, is seeking to elevate happy hour options available in the downtown core.

• James Beard Award-winning chef RJ Cooper, who previously helmed Saint Stephen, is overseeing a food menu of seasonal small plates.
• Bar director Amy Van Buren has been recognized in national cocktail-making competitions.

Driving the news: The bar was designed to evoke the dining cars popular in passenger trains in the 1920s, general manager Noah Williams tells Axios.

• He wants the 62-seat bar to be a cozy refuge for folks looking for a date night or after-work drink.

What he's saying: "We want everyone to feel welcome," Williams says. "We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but we are trying to make the best cocktails we can and make sure they are beautiful and delicious every time they go out."

Zoom in: Food options include high-end takes on classic bar snacks like pork rinds and chips with onion dip.

• The drink menu mixes classics like martinis with a long list of originally crafted cocktails.
• The bar opens at 4:30pm Tuesday-Sunday.

Share this story