...
By Megan Armstrong
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The fate of Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown might not be determined for a while.
The NFL free agency frenzy will kick off on Monday, as all teams will be allowed to negotiate with impending unrestricted free agents beginning at noon EST. Brown, 28, is not an impending free agent. But the Eagles' plans for free agency are inextricable from their plan for Brown.
There is plenty of league-wide interest in the three-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion. The hangup has been the Eagles' "too high" asking price, as reported by ESPN's Dan Graziano last weekend. The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed have also reported that the New England Patriots "have explored trade talks" with the Eagles, "but feel the asking price is unserious."
Read More on NFL
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided an update to the saga on Sunday, and it seems like this could drag on into the summer.
...
"The Eagles have maintained conversations with several teams," Rapoport said on The Insiders. "It's not just the Patriots. There are some interesting teams. It certainly seems like the Rams have checked in recently on A.J. Brown as far as a potential deal there. But, just based on kind of where it seems things stand right now, I do not sense a lot of momentum toward an A.J. Brown deal. There have been, as I said, talks, and there were certain times where it seemed something might get done. I just don't sense that right now."
Rapoport continued, "For the Philadelphia Eagles, the reality is, where their [salary] cap is right now and where the A.J. Brown contract is right now, it actually makes more sense for them to trade him after June 1 just because you can get through the hardest part cap-wise. So, $40 million doesn't accelerate and hit the cap right now. Do the Eagles want to or are they willing to wait until after the [2026 NFL] Draft to do a deal for A.J. Brown? Is A.J. Brown willing to not be traded until after the draft? There's a lot of questions here. I think most people believe, if this does not happen by tomorrow, then everyone probably has to hit pause."
Similarly, ESPN's Benjamin Solak tied the Eagles' free-agent negotiations with star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips to Brown's future with the team.
"Looking at it from a pure cap perspective: if the Eagles actually get a market-rate deal done for Phillips, it’ll be a sign that they aren’t trading Brown until post June 1st if at all," Solak posted on X (formerly Twitter). "Worth seeing how small the 2026 cap hit is before we say anything for sure."
According to Spotrac, Brown carries a $23.39 million cap hit if he remains with the Eagles. That number skyrockets to $43.4 million in dead money should Philly trade him before June 1, according to The Athletic's Zach Berman. Production-wise, Brown is worth every penny. He has posted at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of his four years with the Eagles, including back-to-back 1,4000-yard campaigns in 2022 and 2023.
But over the past two years, Brown has publicly displayed frustration with his role in Philadelphia's offense. Last season, he vented on several occasions, including a regrettable Twitch stream.
In fairness to Brown, he only said what everybody else was thinking. The Eagles had a historically bad 3-and-out rate and were the most hot-and-cold unit in the league under since-fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Surely, newly hired offensive coordinator Sean Mannion would prefer to have Brown in the fold as he tries to right the ship in 2026. If not, however, the Eagles have the luxury of building around another No. 1 wide receiver in DeVonta Smith.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines