What I’m hearing about the Philadelphia Eagles: Why the A.J. Brown trade topic won’t go away
PHOENIX — The NFL scouting combine is fertile with rumors and gossip. At the league meetings, there’s more substance. Free agency has passed, and a team has already shown its work with its plan. The Eagles remain incomplete — as you’ll read below — but there’s a better sense of how this roster will look based on the big moves they made and what’s ahead in the coming weeks. In that spirit, here are nine items I heard at the league meetings last week, in addition to what we already covered:
1. Like everything else this offseason, the A.J. Brown story was front and center. You’ve heard Howie Roseman’s repeated line — “A.J. Brown is a member of the Eagles” — and a similar sentiment was echoed by Nick Sirianni and Jeffrey Lurie. This was an understandable public position, although it did not make clear that Brown will return, and few are convinced that Brown will return. The post-June 1 date remains relevant, as it has been in trade discussions. And yes, there were trade discussions — Los Angeles Rams officials as much. Those trade talks occurred while the Rams weighed trading Davante Adams, which is an interesting “what if?” if Adams was included in the Eagles talks because it’s not just draft pick compensation. The Patriots remain the most obvious option, and Mike Vrabel fielded 10 questions on the topic on Tuesday — from whether they have the cap space to whether they’d send a 2027 first-rounder.
“We’re going to try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster through the draft, through free agency and multiple ways of player acquisition,” Vrabel told reporters. “So, anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we’re going to try to do.”
My sense is there’s fatigue from Eagles fans on this topic, which is understandable. It seems like the boy cried wolf this offseason (and I won’t run away from that charge because I’ve written and discussed this topic since the first week of the offseason), and I wouldn’t expect anything to take place for the next two months. But I still think this is a real possibility after June 1. The best outcome from a football perspective would still be to bring Brown back, but there’s a reason why this story hasn’t gone away and why league executives expect Brown in New England.
2. Other than Jahan Dotson’s departure and a potential Brown trade, this is the same starting offense as last season’s unit that underperformed. The Eagles seem to be banking on a combination of better health and a revamped scheme. Look for the draft to be an influx of talent on offense — they’re expected to add to that side of the ball early in the draft — but it doesn’t sound like the Eagles feel they have a personnel problem on offense.
“‘Bringing the band back together was also a year ago, the team that won a world championship, the offense won a world championship,” Roseman said. “I think that we all agree, and this is not to be critical of anyone, that, being 20th in points scored isn’t really the standard that we’re looking to set. There’s a lot of growth in that area at the same time. We’ve got to continue to add, and I think that we’re looking at that group, and figuring out ways to add to every position group there. Some of those guys, we do think will be better here.
“I think when you look back at last offseason, kind of with hindsight, we had a bunch of guys who were having surgeries, and it was kind of a shorter offseason. …We’ll see how it all sorts out. But I understand, as it looks now… What I’m saying is, you can’t say we’re running it back until we actually do run it back. Let’s see how we add, and maybe that’s how we end up doing.”
Roseman is correct that the depth chart will look different before the season. The top of the depth chart won’t look that much different, though. And inside the building, the feeling is that if the offensive line is healthy and Hurts plays better, this offense will produce closer to 2024 than 2025.
3. The Eagles went into free agency trying to keep Jaelan Phillips. When that didn’t work — Phillips’ $120 million contract was beyond the Eagles’ parameters — they needed to “pivot.” That’s the word that Roseman has used, and it explains how Riq Woolen is on the Eagles.
The Eagles did not enter free agency planning on adding Woolen. This was a combination of the Eagles having cap flexibility after they couldn’t sign Phillips and Woolen lingering on the market longer than expected.
“You have to be able to pivot,” Roseman said. “You have to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is where the market’s going… And we’ve done all this work. We have all the evaluations. Where is there value? …We try not to be stubborn about that. And I think in this situation, and we saw that a couple corners came off the board, got long-term deals that were pretty high, we kind of felt like we knew the player a little bit. We thought he was extremely talented. It’s a position that’s a priority for us, and so we just felt like that opportunity made sense when we kind of balance on that.”
Roseman was honest about Woolen. The Eagles see him as a “supremely talented” player who must be more consistent. The inconsistency was why a “supremely talented” player was available on the second day of free agency. The Eagles viewed it as a bet that made sense for both sides.
The Eagles believe Riq Wilson is a talented player who needs to be more consistent. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
4. The term that describes the Eagles’ offseason is “incomplete.” Roseman has made the point throughout the years that the roster acquisition period isn’t limited to the first week of free agency and the draft, but that seems especially pronounced this year when catching up with Eagles officials.
They’re going to continue to add. The depth chart will look different at safety and edge rusher on defense. Michael Carter II and Marcus Epps are the top internal options at safety, although Roseman made clear the Eagles aren’t finished. Arnold Ebiketie and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka are dart throws behind Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith, and the Eagles will look for more help there. On offense, the Eagles will seek more upside at tight end. The draft will be the place to turn for that spot. The decision to bring Dallas Goedert back had more to do with Goedert examining the market, seeing what was available, and then choosing to stay in Philadelphia than the team’s long-term plans at the position.
5. One spot on the depth chart that Roseman seems happy with at this juncture: Quarterback. Roseman made clear that the Andy Dalton move was not related to Tanner McKee. The Eagles are only on the hook for $1.5 million of Dalton’s salary — not the $4 million as originally reported because the Panthers restructured the deal before the trade — and there’s little financial burden to keeping both McKee and Dalton. I’d argue that it doesn’t make sense to have a 38-year-old Dalton as the third quarterback, and still think the Eagles could flip McKee for a future pick, although the quarterback chairs are quickly filling up.
“I think our whole goal here is to try to compete this year and to do really well,” Roseman said. “And I think that from our perspective, having a guy like Tanner is incredible security for us. The way I think about these three quarterbacks, when I go to bed at night, and I know we have three quarterbacks who can play, I sleep better. That’s just how I roll. So from my perspective, Andy in a vacuum, nothing to do with Tanner.”
6. I’m not expecting Jeff Stoutland to be around the organization this year. Lurie was effusive in praise of Stoutland, calling him “family,” but he also acknowledged that this is the staff of Sirianni and Mannion. The Eagles shifted to a different scheme with a change in run concepts, and they wanted their own run game coordinator to implement that scheme. As I’ve written, I think the Eagles will miss Stoutland as offensive line coach — he’s the best position coach I’ve covered — but they drew the distinction between the offensive line coach and the run game coordinator and are shifting in a different direction. Stoutland, as he explained on a podcast with Nick Foles, has outside work that excites him right now. Coaches (and perhaps football fans) will benefit because he’s an outstanding teacher. It’s called “Stoutland University” for a reason.
7. It’s clear there’s intrigue and excitement about Sean Mannion’s offense. He hasn’t coached a game yet, so he has the benefit of a clean slate, but coaches who worked with Mannion gushed about the person, and those familiar with the scheme were excited about the match in Philadelphia. The Packers were not happy about losing him.
“What Sean did with Jordan (Love), what Sean did getting Malik (Willis) ready… one of the hardest workers that I’ve seen at a younger age,” Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley told reporters. “Always in the building, always working at it, always one-on-one with the quarterbacks, doing extra things. And he played the position. So you can say he’s only coached two years, but his time as a quarterback in the NFL, all he’s doing is learning football and doing it. So what he’ll bring to that quarterback room and what he’ll bring to that offense, I think he’s going to be awesome.”
8. The Eagles lost vice president of football operations Jeff Scott to Atlanta, where he’ll become the assistant general manager. Scott has been with the Eagles since 2021, progressing from senior scout to the football operations department over the past five seasons.
In addition to the need to replace a respected football executive, the timing of the move stood out. Secondary football executives are not supposed to shift seats until after the draft. My understanding is that the Eagles allowed Scott to interview with Atlanta because his role was more centric on the pro game compared to the college game, with a heavy emphasis on free agency. The main wave of free agency is behind the Eagles, and Roseman allowed Scott to progress in his career. Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham made it a point to thank Roseman in a team-issued statement.
9. Look for Sirianni to make modifications to the team’s offseason program. With a new scheme and fewer players coming off major injuries, it would make sense for the Eagles to have more time on the field. The schedule does not reflect as much — they have six OTAs and two days of mandatory minicamp; last year, they had six OTAs and one day of minicamp — but Sirianni indicated he’ll make changes to the practices and the program.
“Every year, you go through a process of what can we do better? I wouldn’t say there are major changes, but there will be tweaks in what we do and how we practice that you’ll see,” Sirianni said. “That’s all part of trying to get a little bit better each day and a little bit better each year. …There won’t be (wholesale) changes, but there will be little changes that you see here and there.”
