The Philadelphia Eagles began the 2025 NFL season with one goal: to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Repeating is never easy in any sport, particularly the NFL, but the Eagles certainly have the roster to do it. The longer the drama involving star wide receiver A.J. Brown drags on, though, the harder it is to believe that the Eagles will actually get back to the mountaintop.
The worst-kept secret in the NFL is that Brown isn't the happiest of campers with the Eagles right now. It has nothing to do with how good the team is; it has more to do with his role in the offense, which can only be described as inconsistent.
Brown's frustration has led to the Eagles receiving trade calls involving the wideout. When asked by Dianna Russini of The Athletic ($) whether he'd actually consider trading Brown, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie's message was loud and clear.
“We do what’s best for the team,” he said. “We don’t even consider it seriously unless it’s best for the Eagles. We will always do what gives us the best chance of winning big. Everything else is secondary.”
The Eagles would trade Brown if it makes them better. If a trade does not improve their football team, Brown is staying put. This mindset makes sense, but could also age very poorly.
It makes sense for the Eagles to want to keep A.J. Brown
To put it simply, Brown is one of the best receivers in the NFL. He's had at least 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in each of his first three seasons with the Eagles, and in their Week 7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Brown had 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. When the ball is thrown his way, he makes something exciting happen more often than not.
Why, when they're in a Super Bowl window, would the Eagles willingly trade a player of Brown's ability, especially when they know they'd never receive a player half as good as he is in return? There's a reason Super Bowl contenders don't trade star players away.
Their odds of repeating would almost certainly dip if they trade Brown away. With that being said, it's getting hard to ignore Brown's frustrations.
Eagles risk upsetting more than A.J. Brown by refusing to trade him
To win a Super Bowl, everybody has to be on the same page. You can have the most talented roster ever, but if players aren't playing together as a team with the same goals in mind, the odds of actually winning it all are slim.
Few, if any, teams have more talent on the offensive side of the ball than the Eagles, yet it's been a chore for this team to score points for much of the year. Sure, a lot of the blame has to be placed on the shoulders of the new offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo, but it's clear that Brown, and potentially others, aren't very happy right now.
By keeping Brown around, the Eagles risk frustration growing, and potentially boiling over into the entire locker room getting out of control. Winning with a fractured locker room just doesn't happen at this level.
I get the argument for keeping him, but the Eagles must be sure to find a way to smooth the tension over sooner rather than later to justify doing that. Failure to do so will only make Brown more frustrated and will almost certainly result in an earlier-than-expected exit for Philadelphia.