A.J. Brown-Eagles drama has quieted a bit, as the mercurial wide receiver came up big in the defending champions’ win in Minnesota, but his role in the offense remains a regular talking point despite the team’s success.
Other clubs have been monitoring this situation, and the Eagles are certainly not shy about wading into the trade market. Brown’s importance to this year’s team is obvious, but the Eagles also could fetch a big haul for one of the NFL’s best receivers. That is almost certain not to happen this year, with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reporting Philadelphia has no plans to move Brown before the November 4 deadline.
Teams have called the Eagles, as they did in the offseason, continuing this as a talking point. Considering Philly’s standing and commitment to 2025 success — based on another active offseason — moving Brown before the deadline would be one of the most surprising deals in recent NFL history.
But the seventh-year player’s issues with his role — which cropped up before the team’s Week 5 game, seemingly keying a pass-heavy gameplan against Denver — are not likely to cease. If the Eagles continue down this path and hold onto their No. 1 target throughout the season, this storyline will undoubtedly produce more trade rumors entering the 2026 offseason.
At 51 targets through seven games, Brown is on pace for more than he drew last season (97). But a 123-target season (or something in that vicinity) would still check in far south of where the number was during the wideout’s more impressive 2022 and ’23 slates. Brown drew 145 looks in 2022 and 158 in ’23. A three-game injury absence and being rested in Week 18 reduced Brown’s 2024 total, making this season’s 123-target pace more in line with where he was on a per-game basis last season. The Eagles, though, have not seen Saquon Barkley closely approach his 2024 work yet. They have needed more from their passing attack than they did in 2024.
In Week 7, Philly saw Brown catch four passes for 121 yards and two scores. This came on a day when DeVonta Smith exploded for a nine-reception, 183-yard game. This remains a top-tier NFL receiving duo, albeit one that saw Barkley’s 2024 resurgence reduce its relevance. Barkley is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry this season, sitting at 369 yards after ripping off 2,005 in 16 games last year. If the Eagles’ run-game struggles — after making Barkley the NFL’s first $20MM-per-year RB — persist, more will be needed from Brown and Smith.
Brown’s three-year, $96MM extension runs through the 2029 season. As this is the Eagles, it is filled with option bonuses and void years. Brown’s 2026 compensation locked in after he remained on Philly’s roster this past March, but this rolling guarantee structure only includes a $4MM 2027 trigger if he is on the Eagles’ roster by Day 3 of the ’26 league year. That could extend this partnership for at least one more season, but the Eagles would certainly receive more value trading Brown ahead of an age-29 season in 2026 than when he turns 30 in ’27.
A WR-needy team likely would not be too intimidated by Brown’s near-$30MM guarantee in 2026, especially if he keeps proving himself as an upper-crust wideout. For now, the Eagles and Brown will need to keep working together. The Eagles’ losses to the Broncos and Giants notwithstanding, this remains one of the NFL’s best rosters. It can certainly improve before the November 4 deadline as well.