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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The Los Angeles Chargers have given quarterback Justin Herbert all the money in the world and not gotten back a great return on investment.
Herbert signed a 5-year, $262.5 million contract before the 2023 season and, at just 27 years old, he’s in line for another massive payday in a few years.
One thing Herbert has never given the Chargers in 6 seasons? A playoff win. After getting blown out by the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Round, he’s 0-3 for his career.
The key to getting over the hump for Herbert might be getting their franchise quarterback an elite wide receiver for the first time in is career. One fix, according to Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, might be pulling off a blockbuster trade for disgruntled Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Brown comes with a lot of baggage — including the mental gymnastics that would come with finding a deal which would help the Eagles negate the massive, $72 million dead cap hit that comes with pre-June 1 trade.
The Chargers, with $103.6 million in cap space, are one of the few teams that might be able to pull that off.
“If the Bolts can fix the offensive line (and the return of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater at tackle should do most of that fixing), this is a team well-positioned to be aggressive adding talent in 2026 to an already formidable roster,” Davenport wrote. “It’s also a team that could have a significant need at wide receiver. The Chargers won’t have to worry about a bag for youngster Ladd McConkey until 2027 (at least). But Keenan Allen is nearing the end of the line. Quentin Johnston started this campaign red-hot but wasn’t that big a factor in the season’s second half. Brown’s a sizable, proven upgrade at a position of need.”
Concerns Beyond Football Come With Brown Trade
While no one doubts Brown’s level of play could still be, quite easily, among the NFL’s handful of elite wide receivers, another thing no one doubts is his ability to tear apart a locker room.
For the last 2 years, at least, Brown has been an objectively terrible teammate, throwing coaches and his quarterback, Jalen Hurts, under the bus multiple times.
For someone who signed a 3-year, $96 million contract extension before the 2024 season, it’s probably OK for the people paying him to expect a little more professionalism.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Brown has shown little ability to behave professionally.
“It seems untenable that (the Eagles) stay the course with Brown, a receiver whose talents aren’t being maximized,” The Athletic’s Michael Silver wrote. “Trading him, however, would be problematic from a salary-cap standpoint (creating more than $72 million in ‘dead money’ if done before June 1), meaning the team and potential suitors might need to find a more creative solution, such as a preemptively reworked contract.”
Herbert-Hurts Might Be Too Tantalizing to Pass Up
The Eagles are in turmoil following a shocking home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round one year after winning the Super Bowl.
The idea of Herbert and Brown scoring touchdowns at SoFi Stadium and the idea of getting rid of their biggest headache might end up being too tantalizing of a scenario to pass up on either side.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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