Eagles insider declares A.J. Brown trade 'more of an inevitability than an uncertainty'

As we venture deeper into the NFL offseason, the A.J. Brown saga in Philadelphia continues to loom large.

The matter even seeped its way into this week’s NFL League Meetings, which are taking place in Phoenix, AZ this week. New England Patriots head coach and reigning NFL Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel was asked about the possibility of trading for Brown, and he didn’t quite avoid the question.

“We’ve talked about this since last January,” Vrabel told reporters.” We’re going to try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster through the draft, through free agency, multiple ways of player acquisition. So anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we’re going to try to do.”

Along with New England’s not-so-quiet pursuit of Brown, Eagles GM Howie Roseman did little to slow down rumors of Brown’s inevitable departure. When asked about Brown, Roseman simply responded “Brown is a member of the Eagles” multiple times.

A.J. Brown, Nick Sirianni engaged in shouting match during NFC Wild Card Game

Thanks to these interesting two days in the saga, Eagles reporter Jeff McLane declared that a trade involving Brown has become ‘more of an inevitability than an uncertainty’ on Tuesday.

Across the past two seasons, there have been multiple incidents on the Philadelphia sideline involving Brown. This came to a head in this season’s NFC Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, in which Brown was shown on camera in a shouting match with head coach Nick Sirianni.

“I think he knows how I feel about him,” Sirianni said postgame. “I have a special relationship with him. We’ve probably [gone] through every emotion you can possibly have together. We’ve laughed together. We’ve cried together. We’ve yelled at each other. We’re both emotional. I was trying to get him off the field, and that happens in this game. That happens in this game, but I love him.”

In his fourth season with the Eagles, Brown hauled in 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. This marked his fourth consecutive 1,000 yard season, but his fewest receiving yards in a campaign since 2021. In fact, Brown’s season-by-season production has dwindled across all four of his seasons with the organization.

“Yeah, my expectation is he wants to be here. And obviously, you want good players like that in your building,” Sirianni said in late Feb., via ESPN. “As Howie said, it’s hard to get good players in this league. A.J.’s a great player and A.J. is a good teammate and A.J. is a good person. Does he want to be here? Yes. Do I want him to be here? Yes.”

Across seven NFL seasons, the three-time All-Pro boasts 8,029 receiving yards with 56 touchdowns.