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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
For sheer entertainment purposes, getting to see A.J. Brown play an entire season with Shedeur Sanders might actually be worth the price of whatever deal the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns need to strike to make it happen.
It also might not be as farfetched of an option as you might think.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler put the Browns among the teams who could possibly pull off trades for Brown this offseason — and there’s a history of moves there to show Cleveland might actually be one of the few teams capable of making it happen.
In Fowler’s scenario, the Browns give the Eagles their 2026 1st round pick (No. 24 overall) in a straight-up deal for the 3-time NFL All-Pro.
“The Browns have two first-round picks (Nos. 6 and 24) after the Travis Hunter trade in April 2025,” Fowler wrote on Thursday. “They could use No. 6 on an offensive lineman and send No. 24 to the Eagles in exchange for Brown. This would immediately upgrade new head coach Todd Monken’s offense, giving the passing game a fighting chance alongside an already stout defense. Cleveland’s WR room totaled just 1,467 receiving yards in 2025, worst in the NFL. Browns general manager Andrew Berry is an ex-Eagles exec who has a rapport with (Howie) Roseman. Cleveland has a penchant for the splash receiver trade, acquiring Odell Beckham Jr., Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy during Berry’s tenure. All three players posted 1,000-yard seasons in Year 1 with the Browns.”
Brown to Browns Makes Too Much Sense
If you thought Brown was frustrated playing with veteran quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts the last few seasons, the 1st inclination might be to think playing with an unproven, 2nd year quarterback like Sanders would be a much worse situation for him to be in.
Brown’s comfort or discomfort really shouldn’t be a concern. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Eagles can ship him wherever.
While we might want to think Brown will come in and start complaining about Sanders from the jump, there’s an alternate universe where this works out for both sides and the 2 find a way to thrive together.
‘Buyer Beware’ Tag is Real Thing With Brown
The Browns, like any team who might consider a trade for Brown, probably has to take account of the red flags — much less concerning on a team like Cleveland where they’ve been as bad as anyone in the NFL the last 2 years.
In 4 seasons in Philadelphia since Brown was traded from the Tennessee Titans in 2022, he’s a 3-time NFL All-Pro, won a Super Bowl and played in another Super Bowl.
In that time, there’s been as many headlines about Brown complaining about the offense and quarterback Jalen Hurts as there have been about him catching passes.
Brown is the type of player who will complain during a winning streak if his stats aren’t what he wants them to be.
“Few things are as frustrating than when you can optically see that (lack of effort) from one of your teammates,” former Eagles center Jason Kelce said during a radio appearance on February 12. “Whatever was affecting A.J. (in 2025) was affecting the Eagles as well … he’s just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse.”
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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