NFL Insiders weigh in on potential A.J. Brown trade rumors

You have heard this time and time again. It bears repeating for the sake of argument. There is no sports town like the City of Brotherly Love. There is nothing on this planet that parallels the Philadelphia Eagles, the fans that cheer for them, or the media that covers them. Think about this for a second. A Super Bowl will be played on Sunday.

We’ve heard more airtime dedicated to A.J. Brown trade rumors. Yes, that’s a thing again. Derrick Henry made a recruiting pitch to his former teammate A.J. Brown. Henry and Cooper DeJean were both part of a debate, and the citizens of our great nation’s first capital forgot about everything being reported about football’s biggest game.

Though most of this was presented playfully, this has been an ongoing discussion in Philadelphia. Things quieted during the Eagles’ offensive coordinator search. Brown’s displeasure and possible exit took a back seat to news about Vic Fangio and Jeff Stoutland.

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Still, there exists banter about Brown’s tough season in Philadelphia, his fourth, and the possibilities of him landing elsewhere. How realistic is a trade, though? There are so many moving parts that must be weighed in executing one that is beneficial.

He represents a $23.3 million cap hit in 2026. He also represents $72.5 million in dead cap space. There’s an ‘out’ built into his contract after next season, but he’s signed through 2029, making him a free agent in 2030.

Two NFL insiders weighed in on this as a forgotten Super Bowl week in Santa Clara rolls on. Here’s what both said.

Dianna Russini and Adam Schefter both had a lot to say about a potential A.J. Brown trade.

«I think teams are going to be motivated (to investigate an A.J. Brown trade). Everyone’s going to be motivated to upgrade their roster, so what’s the best way to do that if you can’t do it in free agency? You’re going to be more anxious to do it in a trade, but you know if you’re trading A.J. Brown I don’t know what the return would be on an A.J. Brown trade. I mean I personally think the Eagles would want a one if they even entertained it. I don’t know if they will. At least a one.»

That’s a direct quote from Adam Schefter during a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic. Eagles fans are paying slightly more attention to him these days as he is beating his chest. He correctly implied that a massive news update (which turned out to be the Stoutland news) would come this week.

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Schefter, as most know, is ESPN’s Senior NFL Insider. Dianna Russini is the Senior NFL Insider for The Athletic. She believes a potential trade would ultimately be up to the Eagles receiver. She also believes the Eagles can acquire a second-round draft pick by trading him.

Brown possibly rejoining his former head coach, Mike Vrabel, with the New England Patriots is interesting. It’s also hard to ignore Henry’s request and the Baltimore Ravens. The latter organization has a history of adding good veteran receivers at the later stages of their career.

This will remain what it’s always been in Philadelphia. It’s a sports talk radio exercise and speculation, born of passion and amplified by a city that never stops talking about its football team.

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Still, until the Eagles determine they want Brown shipped off, and there’s no indication that they have, this will remain one of the more talked-about rumors in Philadelphia, even when the rest of the sports world focuses its gaze somewhere else.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: NFL Insiders weigh in on potential A.J. Brown trade rumors