{"id":812786,"date":"2026-03-15T00:25:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T00:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/812786\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T00:25:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T00:25:24","slug":"eagles-wr-a-j-brown-trade-seen-as-inevitable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/812786\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles WR A.J. Brown Trade Seen As ‘Inevitable’"},"content":{"rendered":"

MARCH 14: While the trade to offload Brown didn\u2019t happen in the often-active first week of free agency, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, his exit via trade<\/a> is still seen \u201cas inevitable.\u201d Florio\u2019s source claims the team could be \u201ccareening toward a potential cap mess in 2027,\u201d if Brown stays with the team for the 2026 season. It only seems to be a question of when it will happen (before or after June 1), not if.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned concerns of dead money still exist, but thanks to the Panthers<\/a> keeping a massive Jaelan Phillips<\/a> charge off Philly\u2019s books, there\u2019s some idea in the building that the Eagles are more equipped to carry the dead money now, if they do choose to ship him out before June 1. The advantage of doing so would be to give the personnel department a better idea of what the roster will look like in 2026 and, potentially, to acquire some draft capital in the trade that they may be able to utilize to fill the hole left by his departure as soon as the end of next month. It\u2019s a waiting game at the moment, but just how long we\u2019ll be waiting appears to be in the hands of the Eagles front office.<\/p>\n

MARCH 13: The Eagles\u2019 A.J. Brown<\/a> trade talks are on hold for the time being. After engaging in \u201cserious conversations\u201d with the Rams and Patriots, the Eagles have decided to retain Brown for now, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic<\/a>. If a trade materializes, it won\u2019t happen until around June, Russini adds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dealing Brown before June would come at a severe cost to Philadelphia. The Eagles would absorb a $43.45MM dead cap charge, a record for a receiver. They would also lose $20.12MM in cap room.<\/p>\n

A post-June 1 deal would be reminiscent of the Falcons trading<\/a> star wideout Julio Jones<\/a> to the Titans in 2021. With Jones then entering his age-32 season, the Falcons dealt him and a sixth-rounder for a second- and a fourth-rounder.<\/p>\n

In the event general manager Howie Roseman pulls the trigger then, the Eagles would spread Brown\u2019s dead money over two years. While the Eagles would face a $16.35MM charge in 2026 and a $27.1MM fee in \u201927, they would save $7MM on their cap next season.<\/p>\n

Roseman has reportedly held out for a package consisting of at least a first- and second-rounder for Brown, but it does not appear anyone will bite before April\u2019s draft. The Rams already dealt their original first-round pick away in acquiring former Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie<\/a> last week. Los Angeles still has another first-rounder (No. 13 overall, originally Atlanta\u2019s selection), and GM Les Snead has never been shy to ship out top picks for immediate upgrades. However, that may be too pricey for the soon-to-be 29-year-old Brown.<\/p>\n

If the Rams do acquire Brown before the season, it would give them an embarrassment of riches at receiver. Head coach Sean McVay, offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and MVP-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a>\u00a0would have Brown, Puka Nacua<\/a> and Davante Adams<\/a> as a trio for at least one season. While Brown is under contract through 2029, Nacua and Adams are on schedule to become free agents next year. In all likelihood, though, the Rams will work out a massive extension with Nacua before then.<\/p>\n

The reigning AFC champion Patriots, meanwhile, are in line to keep the 31st pick. In heading to New England, Brown would reunite with Mike Vrabel, who was his coach in Tennessee from 2019-21. The two still have a strong relationship, but the Patriots have less urgency to meet the Eagles\u2019 demands after adding former Packer Romeo Doubs<\/a> on a four-year, $80MM contract in free agency.<\/p>\n

If the Eagles are shutting down talks until the summer, other teams could enter the race for Brown by then. Aside from the Patriots, the three-time Pro Bowler\u2019s wish list reportedly<\/a> features the Bills, Chargers and Chiefs. None of those three clubs have pursued Brown with much gusto, but perhaps circumstances will change a few months from now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARCH 14: While the trade to offload Brown didn\u2019t happen in the often-active first week of free agency,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2068],"tags":[8694,25,7,58,249,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-812786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-a-j-brown","9":"tag-eagles","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-los-angeles-rams","12":"tag-new-england-patriots","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","16":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116230353973154994","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812786","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=812786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}