Most feel like it’s a matter of when, not if the Philadelphia Eagles will trade star receiver A.J. Brown this offseason.
Weeks ago, the Eagles had multiple teams inquiring about trading for the Pro Bowl wideout, with the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams emerging as the two frontrunners.
The Rams appear to no longer be in the running, and several analysts feel Brown ending up in New England before the start of the regular season is just an eventuality.
Eagles Appear to Have a Specific Timeline
Mitchell Leff/Getty ImagesPhiladelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown
During ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday, former NFL general manager-turned-analyst Mike Tannenbaum pointed to massive disparity in dead cap money the Eagles would incur if they traded Brown pre-June 1 ($43.5 million) compared to post-June 1 ($16.4 million) as a reason why he likely won’t be dealt until after the 2026 NFL draft.
“From a salary cap standpoint, look at the massive difference if A.J. Brown is traded before June 1 or after June 1,” Tannenbaum stated. “When you look at the three receivers they’ve added, and you can see the salary cap ramifications, especially if they add another receiver in the draft, to me, all signs point to a post-June 1 trade of A.J. Brown.”
To Tannenbaum’s point, the Eagles signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Elijah Moore, and traded for Dontayvion Wicks from the Green Bay Packers — off of which will cost nearly 50% less (approximately $16 million) than what Brown’s 2026 cap number is ($29 million).
The timing of the trade also removes the possibility of any 2026 draft picks being exchanged for Brown, meaning any draft capital the Eagles acquire will come in the 2027, 2028, or 2029 drafts.
Eagles Aren’t Hiding that Brown Will Be Traded
GettyEagles WR AJ Brown and QB Jalen Hurts
ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated the fact that Philadelphia has added three players at Brown’s position seemingly guarantees he’ll be gone at some point this summer.
“Every time they add another wide receiver, it just reinforces the notion that they are open to the idea that they’ll be moving on from A.J. Brown,” Schefter said. “They can say it’s not related, but the fact of the matter is, there have been three receivers added who can help this roster — none of them are A.J. Brown, very few receivers in the league are A.J. Brown.
“But as long as the Eagles are adding wide receivers, that absolutely keeps alive the realistic possibility, that come June 1, that there’s a real chance they will be moving on.”
With Brown out of the picture, the Eagles WR depth chart will feature
DeVonta Smith, Wicks, Marquise Brown, Moore, Quez Watkins, and Johnny Wilson. There’s also a possibility the team drafts another WR in less than two weeks.
Philadelphia has had 30 visits with four wideouts so far — Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., Ole Miss’ De’Zhaun Stribling, Texas Tech’s Caleb Douglas, and Utah’s Chris Bell.
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