Let’s Talk About AJ

Posted February 8th, 2026

AJ Brown is a great player. He’s also become a complicated subject for discussion. Brown had a disappointing season on the field and generated a lot of drama off the field. That’s not ideal. It is fair to question whether he wants to remain in Philly and also if the Eagles want him to stay.

I’m sure the organization would love to keep the guy from 2022-2024. He was one of the best receivers in the league. I don’t think the team would want the guy from last year coming back.

What about AJ?

A lot of people listened to those comments and got excited. AJ said all the right things. I can see why that would get people to feel encouraged about his return.

On the other hand, I have a hard time ignoring what we saw and heard from September to January. AJ seemed like a very disgruntled player throughout the season. Maybe the frustrating season got the best of him. Maybe some time away has given him good perspective and he’s got a clear head now. I would love to think that’s the case.

The skeptic in me sees that video and doesn’t fully buy it. Those comments have a feel of someone saying the right things for PR purposes. So why would he do that? If AJ wants out of Philly, he would want to go somewhere good. The Eagles would have more trade partners if teams think AJ isn’t a headcase. Players with baggage are harder to deal. AJ helps his situation by doing and saying the right things.

Some of you wonder if the Eagles can even trade AJ. Jimmy Bama wrote a good piece on that previously. There is a lot of money involved so obviously it isn’t a simple situation. The easiest thing for the Eagles would be to keep AJ. No question about that. Jimmy also wrote a piece explaining why he thinks AJ will be dealt.

Howie Roseman talked about wanting to keep AJ around. As he pointed out, you want to get great players. You don’t want to lose them. But Howie knows that’s a two-way street. Players have to want to be in Philly. When other guys have pushed to get out, Howie was able to deal them and let them have a fresh start somewhere else.

I think one of the real complications here is trying to understand what would make AJ happy. He’s been to a pair of Super Bowls and won one of them in Philly. He’s been to a couple of Pro Bowls. He was second team All Pro twice. Brown has had nothing but success as an individual and as part of a team while an Eagle. So what is he missing?

My guess is that he sees gaudy numbers being put up by other receivers around the league and it bothers him. Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Chris Olave all caught 100 or more passes. George Pickens went to Dallas and caught 93 passes. He became a big star. AJ likely feels he’s as good or better than all of these guys and should be posting similar numbers.

The problem is that the Eagles were 24th and 32nd in passing attempts over the past two seasons. AJ has to share catches with DeVonta Smith. Even with a new offense in 2026, I don’t know that the Eagles will be a primarily passing offense. AJ did have 106 catches in 2023 so maybe the coaches can sell him on a vision where he gets back to that level.

AJ Brown was one of my favorite players before he even got to the Eagles. I love tough, physical receivers. I loved watching Irving Fryar in the mid-90’s. I always dreamed of Anquan Boldin as an Eagle. I was ecstatic when they traded for AJ. I finally got a tough guy and not just a speedster. I would love nothing more than to see him finish his career as an Eagle.

Unfortunately neither the Eagles nor AJ is overly concerned with my feelings. He is trying to figure out what he wants. The team is trying to figure out how they can put together the best roster possible. You would think they would invite me to town for a summit, where we ate cheesesteaks and worked on a solution that also included what I want. At least I can watch this and be happy.

If I had to bet a paycheck, I’d bet that AJ gets traded. I guess one good thing is that Howie has done a good job of managing complicated situations over the years. If anyone can find a way to make this work, it could be him, probably with some help from Big Dom.

*****

I can’t say I’m overly excited for the Super Bowl. I’ve never cared for Seattle and haven’t cared for the Pats for a long time. I guess I’ll pull for Seattle. They are an NFC team and the Pats already have enough friggin trophies. Plus it would probably drive Rams and Niners fans to see them win. It would also be a bit torturous for Vikings fans to see Sam Darnold holding the Lombardi Trophy after they let him go.

Seattle is the better team, but NE has handled the postseason better than I imagined. Never count out a Mike Vrabel team.

https://igglesblitz.com/2026/02/lets-talk-about-aj/

My guess is that he sees gaudy numbers being put up by other receivers around the league and it bothers him. Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Chris Olave all caught 100 or more passes. George Pickens went to Dallas and caught 93 passes. He became a big star. AJ likely feels he’s as good or better than all of these guys and should be posting similar numbers.

I wonder if Smith-Njigba is going to express frustration repeatedly on his social media platforms over not having "dominated" in the game last night (even though Seattle won)? 4 catches for 27 yards.

There’s a cap saving if they trade him right? So if that is the case then there’s a good chance they do trade him. If that’s what he wants and Howie thinks using that cap saving would be better for the team then that’s what they’ll do. I don’t think Howie wants to lose him and Howie is right he’s a great player. But a good draft pick, a cap saving, a chance to improve the team in other areas and a chance to get rid of a player who may not want to be? Yeah I mean you have to do that if you can.

3 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

There’s a cap saving if they trade him right? So if that is the case then there’s a good chance they do trade him. If that’s what he wants and Howie thinks using that cap saving would be better for the team then that’s what they’ll do. I don’t think Howie wants to lose him and Howie is right he’s a great player. But a good draft pick, a cap saving, a chance to improve the team in other areas and a chance to get rid of a player who may not want to be? Yeah I mean you have to do that if you can.

Only if they use a post June 1 designation and then we would see a cap savings of $7M (but also a $16.4M dead money hit to the 2026 cap and then another $27.2M dead money hit to the 2027 cap). Also, by using a post June 1 designation a deal would not be considered "finalized" until after that date so the draft pick would have to come in 2027 (or later). The real savings by dealing him would be to the 2027-2029 caps ($133M in total over those 3 years combined ... about $44M per year).

3 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Only if they use a post June 1 designation and then we would see a cap savings of $7M (but also a $16.4M dead money hit to the 2026 cap and then another $27.2M dead money hit to the 2027 cap). Also, by using a post June 1 designation a deal would not be considered "finalized" until after that date so the draft pick would have to come in 2027 (or later). The real savings by dealing him would be to the 2027-2029 caps ($133M in total over those 3 years combined ... about $44M per year).

It could be a PR stunt but I kind of feel he wouldn’t have been so positive if it was. I truly hope they can work it out for at least this season and Brown wants to play for our new OC.

If we trade him post June it’s exceptionally difficult to replace him as we won’t get any picks until 2027.

7 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

It could be a PR stunt but I kind of feel he wouldn’t have been so positive if it was. I truly hope they can work it out for at least this season and Brown wants to play for our new OC.

If we trade him post June it’s exceptionally difficult to replace him as we won’t get any picks until 2027.

I, too, wish he had a change of mindset and truly wanted to be here but my gut says he was just playing nice (saying Patullo did an excellent job was the dead giveaway for me ).

5 hours ago, time2rock said:

Only if they use a post June 1 designation and then we would see a cap savings of $7M (but also a $16.4M dead money hit to the 2026 cap and then another $27.2M dead money hit to the 2027 cap). Also, by using a post June 1 designation a deal would not be considered "finalized" until after that date so the draft pick would have to come in 2027 (or later). The real savings by dealing him would be to the 2027-2029 caps ($133M in total over those 3 years combined ... about $44M per year).

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out then. I’m sure there’s a preference to keep him but only if he wants to and is willing to be a team guy rather than doing what he’s done the last 3 or so years.

54 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out then. I’m sure there’s a preference to keep him but only if he wants to and is willing to be a team guy rather than doing what he’s done the last 3 or so years.

Indeed. He's getting paid a LOT of money to be the best teammate and player he can be. Recently he has been neither ... certainly not worth the investment. And something tells me that is exactly what Lurie and Howie are thinking.