{"id":748064,"date":"2026-02-13T00:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T00:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748064\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T00:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T00:36:18","slug":"nfl-insider-talks-a-j-brown-trade-rumors-and-possibility-of-the-eagles-drafting-a-quarterback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748064\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL insider talks A.J. Brown trade rumors and possibility of the Eagles drafting a quarterback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some seem to believe that A.J. Brown\u2019s recent public comments<\/a> indicate he\u2019ll definitely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles next season. Case closed.<\/p>\n

The sense here is that sentiment is more wishful thinking than reality.<\/p>\n

Recent reporting claims Brown\u2019s \u201crelationship with the team remains somewhat tenuous<\/a>.\u201d One NFL insider said he expects Brown trade talks to pick up at the NFL Combine<\/a>, which is typically a precursor to NFL free agency activity.<\/p>\n

The latest on Brown comes from ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a>, who had the following to say on Thursday morning\u2019s edition of Get Up:<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, some people I\u2019ve talked to around the league, some executives of other teams, do expect that the Eagles will at least entertain a trade for A.J. Brown, who was unhappy on numerous fronts. I mean, name the counts where he looked like he was miserable out there, body language wasn\u2019t good. So, something has to give. That\u2019s sort of the feeling right now. They could build around DeVonta Smith and some other pieces, Saquon [Barkley], maybe add a wide receiver. So, he would create a haul for the Eagles if they do go that route. Nothing has happened as of yet. But there are a lot of changes coming with the Eagles. We\u2019ve seen them revamp basically their entire offensive staff. Do they pay Jalen Carter?<\/p>\n

One question around the league is do they draft a quarterback, maybe in Day 2? Apply a little bit of pressure on Jalen Hurts, who I believe is at a crossroad right now after the way last season went. And Jalen Hurts was drafted in the second round, eventually replaced Carson Wentz, who got a massive deal just that offseason before. Does that same thing now happen to Jalen Hurts eventually?\u201c<\/p>\n

A few topics to unpack here: Brown, Carter, and drafting a quarterback.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time we\u2019ve heard an NFL insider claiming that other teams expect the Eagles to entertain Brown trade offers. We previously heard a lot of that chatter prior to last season\u2019s trade deadline. Obviously, a deal didn\u2019t materialize. But trading him now is more realistic than it was back then. Yes, even with the seemingly prohibitive financial implications<\/a> that actually aren\u2019t totally disqualifying.<\/p>\n

The prospect of the Eagles trading Brown is not ideal or fun to think about. Well, for most people. There seem to be some who are understandably frustrated with Brown and want him gone. That is NOT my position. However, just because I don\u2019t think the Eagles should move Brown means I\u2019m going to ignore that it seems likely to happen. To a much larger point, there\u2019s too much of \u201cI don\u2019t want this to be true, so, therefore it isn\u2019t!\u201d going on in today\u2019s world. As it specifically relates to Brown, there\u2019s too much evidence that suggests he doesn\u2019t want to be here. And, no, I don\u2019t think the Eagles hiring Sean Mannion suddenly changes his mind. Brown has expressed discontent with Eagles offensive issues dating back to the 2024 season. Bleeding Green Nation reported that he asked for a trade multiple times last year<\/a> and as early as after Week 3. Brown clearly sounded defeated<\/a>, saying his situation was a \u201cshitshow\u201d and he was \u201cstruggling\u201d mentally. He literally told people to drop him from their fantasy teams. How often have you heard an athlete say that? Has it ever happened before? Further, Brown\u2019s frustration showed on the field with a lack of emotional investment and effort. I just don\u2019t think he wants to be here. I wish I didn\u2019t feel that way. But it\u2019s just the likelihood that\u2019s in front of us.<\/p>\n

Just a quick line thrown in by Fowler: \u201cDo they pay Jalen Carter?\u201c<\/p>\n

I\u2019m guessing no. At least, not this offseason. Of course, I\u2019m not as privy to Carter\u2019s medical situation as the team is. If they\u2019re not worried at all about his long-term health, well, an extension is more likely.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still bullish on Carter\u2019s upside. But there\u2019s no denying 2025 was a disappointing season for him. Carter posted a career low in sacks, TFLs, and quarterback hits as he played just 11 games. Despite this, he still earned Pro Bowl honors. And there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s very good when he\u2019s playing at his best. We just didn\u2019t see that version of him enough last year. His massive 2024 workload<\/a> clearly took a toll on him that carried over into 2025.<\/p>\n

Maybe Carter will be healthy and more effective in 2026. If the Eagles feel confident that\u2019s going to be the case, they could look to pay him now. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to get much of a discount but it will be cheaper than paying him later if he has an All-Pro kind of year next season.<\/p>\n

Part of what makes the Carter contract projection unclear is how the Eagles will handle their other young defensive tackles. Jordan Davis is going to be a free agent after 2026, so, one would think he\u2019s the priority in terms of getting a deal done. Moro Ojomo will also be a free agent after 2026. Are the Eagles comfortable with letting him walk like they were with Milton Williams?<\/p>\n

Carter is extension eligible but he will be under contract through 2027 after the Eagles pick up his fifth-year option this offseason, which is very likely.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS ON DRAFTING A QUARTERBACK<\/p>\n

So, it obviously depends on who\u2019s available where they\u2019re picking, but I can totally buy the Eagles picking a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s set Jalen Hurts aside for a moment and focus on what the Eagles have behind him. It\u2019s really just Tanner McKee, who is set to be a free agent after the 2026 season. Sam Howell is set to be a free agent in March.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not perfectly clear what McKee could fetch if the Eagles trade him. But this is probably their last offseason to move him and get value in return. One would guess that McKee will look to sign elsewhere once his rookie contract is up. He might be able to join a team where he has a better path to playing time.<\/p>\n

The Eagles could decide to keep McKee if there\u2019s a really weak market for him. If not, they might look to sign an experienced veteran to have behind Hurts. But that route likely won\u2019t be cheap; backup QBs cost real money in today\u2019s NFL. Zach Wilson cost $6 million for one year in 2025. Ditto for Jarrett Stidham. Mason Rudolph was just under $4 million. These aren\u2019t even some of the better backups in the league, like Marcus Mariota, who cost $8 million.<\/p>\n

After Super Bowl LII, no NFL team can better attest to the importance of a quality backup quarterback quite like the Eagles can. It could be surprising, then, to see them go into a season with a rookie backing up Hurts. But having a quarterback on a rookie deal would be financially beneficial.<\/p>\n

And in the event that the Eagles do want to pivot away from Hurts (not saying that\u2019s the likely case here, just that it\u2019s possible), well, the new young quarterback could be an option for them. Just like Hurts once was when the Eagles moved on from Wentz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some seem to believe that A.J. Brown\u2019s recent public comments indicate he\u2019ll definitely be back with the Philadelphia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,5406],"class_list":{"0":"post-748064","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-philadelphia-eagles-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116060526931016429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}