Latest A.J. Brown Trade Rumors Reveal Timeline for Eagles to Make Decision on WR's Future

If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to trade A.J. Brown, a move would likely come before the start of free agency.

Per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the "sense" among people with the Eagles right now is that general manager Howie Roseman will likely make a decision about Brown "sooner" rather than later, with the start of the legal tampering period on March 9 cited as a potential deadline of sorts.

As for the asking price, McLane noted that Roseman will likely start out seeking a significant return for the star wide receiver:

"Roseman's tactics are renowned. He'll set the cost much higher than prevailing wisdom says it should be. One NFL executive said he heard the Eagles were seeking a return that included both a first- and second-round draft pick. Whether accurate or not, it's a price tag already being floated within league circles."

One reason for the reported high asking price could be due to the financial hit that Philadelphia would take by trading Brown.

Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, trading Brown before June 1 would come with a $43.4 million dead cap charge and a $20.1 million cap loss for 2026. They could save $7 million against the cap next season if they were to move him after June 1, but any draft compensation they receive wouldn't come until 2027 at the earliest.

The Eagles are currently only $16.1 million under the projected cap with Brown's $23.4 million cap hit on the books.

There aren't a lot of easy financial levers for the Eagles to pull that would create a lot of cap space. Quarterbacks on big-money extensions typically have the ability to restructure their deal for cap purposes, but Jalen Hurts doing so wouldn't save them anything in 2026.

The Eagles could attempt to extend Hurts' contract this offseason, though two down years sandwiched between the Super Bowl year in 2024 might give them pause about committing to him long-term for a second time in three years.

If Roseman sticks to his reported asking price of a first- and second-round pick for Brown, it would seem unlikely to come his way. When the Eagles acquired him in a one-for-one swap with the Tennessee Titans for the 18th pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Brown was going into his age-25 season at the time of that deal. Even though he has produced four consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards with the Eagles, the idea of a team trading more for him now going into his age-29 campaign seems like a long shot.

There are also several first-round prospects in the draft that teams might be willing to bet on, including Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, Malaki Lemon and Kevin Concepcion.

Brown is coming off an inconsistent 2025 season that also saw him have some clashes with Eagles personnel, including head coach Nick Sirianni during the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but he still finished with 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 starts.