After months of waiting for some kind of resolution to the A.J. Brown saga, the Philadelphia Eagles finally pulled the trigger on a trade after 4:00 p.m. on June 1. Shortly thereafter, Howie Roseman spoke with the media. Here are my six takeaways from Howie’s presser.
1) The Eagles view the A.J. trade as a ‘win-win’.
Roseman: “I think that when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and having the conversations we had with him, it felt like where we were, where we were going, where he was, that if we could find something that kind of achieved our goals of getting a first round pick going forward here in the near future, getting the money back to spend on other players on our team and other teams. And it was a win-win situation based on where he was and how he felt, we were open to that.”
#JimmySays: Brown wanted to play somewhere other than in Philadelphia. I think it’s also true that the Eagles weren’t all that conflicted about moving on from him.
2) And yes, we have confirmation that A.J. Brown did indeed want to be traded.
Roseman: “You know, I think that the conversations that we had with A.J., I think that he just felt for his family that this stage of his career, it was something that he was desiring, that he was looking forward to. And all our conversations, very positive about his experiences in Philly, just felt like going forward that that was something that he preferred.
“When we look at last year, and there was a lot of talk about him during the trade deadline, he was all in and trying to win another championship last year. We sat down after the season, had conversations, continued to have those conversations throughout the offseason. And again, you know, like for us, we wouldn’t have done this trade if there wasn’t a first round pick plus included. Obviously, you go into these, you have a feel for the player and what he’s done for your team, and it’s hard to pull the trigger on these.
“But after those conversations and where we are and the players that we have coming up that we want to extend, being able to get this first round pick and getting some of the cap and cash relief. We felt like maybe this could be a win-win spot for both sides.”
#JimmySays: There were a whole lot of Eagles fans who were unconvinced that Brown did not want to be here anymore unless he explicitly said so himself. Well, the GM confirming that Brown expressed that sentiment is the next best thing.
3) Dead money doesn’t matter to the Eagles as much as it does to outsiders.
The question here was how the Eagles can navigate the dead money on their cap in the wake of trading Brown.
Roseman: “I think we’re going to continue to be able to build the team, feel like we have a good team, a good roster. I think that when we’ve been able to, you know, over the last few years, kind of slowly move on, get younger, but at the same time, keep a lot of our players, and we’ll try to continue to do so. The goal is really for us to have sustainability here. We got a lot of young players that we want to keep. And a lot of ways this helps us being able to keep one. Obviously, he had earned a big salary. And so that creates some spots for us going forward with that money. And then, you know, we got to hit on our picks.
“We’ve got to keep making sure we draft well and hit on our picks, and then I won’t be very concerned about the cap going forward.”
#JimmySays: The Eagles don’t care about dead money as much as people on the outside do, as we have explained repeatedly (example here). The way the Eagles structure their contracts, there will always be dead money on their books at the end of the player’s tenure with the team. It is already built into the cost analysis when the player is signed in the first place.
4) The Eagles don’t devalue draft picks in future years like many other teams do.
Roseman: “Yeah, I think that… for us to take a 2026 pick and, you know, that’s a late first round pick, and obviously you also have to deal with the cap consequences that come with making a trade prior to June 1st, it made some sense for us to look at future picks. We do scout future drafts, not just the 2026 draft, but 2027, 2028. And I think for us, we’ve always been in the mindset that a pick is a pick. A first round pick is a first round pick. Doesn’t matter. The team is still going to be playing football in 2028. We did that with Haason with the Jets where we took a third-round pick two years later, because it was really important for us to get the right value.
“And I think from our perspective, getting a first-round pick for our team, having two first-round picks in 2028 is a huge, huge part of this move. I think that when you look at that and obviously the options of what you’re able to do with having multiple first-round picks, it’s a huge game changer and feel very, very confident that those picks are the most valuable things that you can add as you’re building your team. And so I think I know there’s a lot of attention on the 2027 draft, but at the same time, looking at the 2028 draft, I feel confident that that’s going to be a good draft as well and that we’ll be in a position to really improve our football team.”
#JimmySays: Just evaluating the team’s actions over the years it was clear to see that the Eagles don’t devalue picks in the future the same way that many other teams around the league do. But I don’t think we’ve ever heard Howie state so emphatically that that is indeed the case.
5) The Eagles say that this trade had nothing to do with Jalen Hurts.
The question was deftly phrased like so: “Has the way things played out with A.J. in terms of the interpersonal dynamics affected the way you feel about Jalen Hurts as a leader?”
Roseman: “No. Not at all. I think that these are two totally separate issues, and I think that obviously where we are, excited about where our football team is, excited about Jalen this new offense. Don’t see those issues kind of crossing over.”
#JimmySays: The relationship between Brown and Hurts, formerly besties, deteriorated over time. That doesn’t make Hurts a bad leader, and it doesn’t mean that Hurts is at fault for the erosion of that relationship. But it’s probably fair to assume that if Brown and Hurts were as close now as they were when Brown was first traded to the Eagles, maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to leave?
6) The Eagles like what they have at receiver with Brown gone, but Brown’s shoes will be hard to fill.
Roseman: “Well, we’ll see. You know, obviously, we’re very early on building our team for 2026. I have a lot of confidence in DeVonta Smith, always have. I think he’s just a really good player and excited for him to continue to improve and shine as a player. I have a lot of confidence in that. Obviously, we took a receiver in the first round. I have a lot of confidence in that player but he’s a rookie receiver. Traded for Wicks, feel like the guy’s a really talented player who knows the offense, was with our coaches. Signed Hollywood, who’s shown, proven over time that he has a trait, an elite trait. And then we got a bunch of other receivers here who early in camp are looking good.
“And we’ll have competition throughout that position like every other position, but there’s no doubt that A.J. Brown was a huge, huge part of our football team, a great player for us, and that loss will have to be picked up by more than just one player.”
#JimmySays: Smith was better than Brown in 2025. Brown’s production will be replaced by Smith, who is entirely capable of being the focal point of an NFL passing attack. The hard part will be replacing what Smith was as a WR1b, and the Eagles will likely try to do that with a combination of players.
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