The hot new speculation article to write in the sports media this week is where Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown would land if he were traded from the team.
Of course, this started after the firestorm that came from Brown's 2-catch, seven-yard game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. His cryptic post after the game resulted in his head coach, Nick Sirianni, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, Jalen Hurts, and Brown himself answering questions about it all week.
Despite what Brown has said, many people believe that he still wants out of Philly and land with a new home. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler doesn't expect a trade to happen for multiple reasons.
"First, to get this out of the way: Brown's contract comes with a dead cap hit of nearly $90 million. That's tough to trade, even for an aggressive front office such as Philadelphia -- though not impossible if designated as a post-June 1 trade. Some execs I spoke to this week don't expect Philadelphia to trade Brown in-season but said that it could be something to entertain in the offseason. It's sort of the worst-kept secret inside the league that Brown's love-hate relationship with Philly's passing game bubbles to the surface from time to time. He's a true competitor and wants to be great. With that comes emotion and inevitable frustration."
Eagles fans should rest easy knowing Brown can't be traded right away
It has been a rough season for Brown, with his 14 receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown in four games. He's only caught 50% of his 28 targets this season, but if fans watched the Buccaneers game, most of his targets were uncatchable passes.
With that being said, Brown is still a critical piece to this offense. Even if he is not catching every pass, he draws defenders to cover him, which opens the door for other pass catchers like DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert to get open.
If the Eagles were trying to trade for him, they would hope for a first-round pick, which might be a tall order for any team to give up. Brown would have to go to a Super Bowl contender that's got the cap space. That's rare to find.
The best time to trade him would be waiting until after the 2026 season. There is a potential out on his contract in 2027, as his dead cap would be between $9 million and $13 million, depending on what they do with him. This is significantly better than what they are currently dealing with.
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No one in Philadelphia wants to see their favorite wide receiver walk out the door, so it's just easier for them to figure out how to get Brown more involved in the offense first and fix this scheme. Brown is too good to trade.