A.J. Brown is still an Eagle, but he’ll probably be a Patriot in about six weeks.
The veteran wide receiver is “likely” to be traded to the Patriots after June 1, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Eagles want to wait until after June 1 because of salary cap accounting: The Eagles will take a $40 million cap hit when they trade Brown, and NFL rules allow teams to split the cap hit between 2026 and 2027 for trades after June 1. Before June 1, the whole $40 million would count toward the Eagles’ 2026 cap.
The trade is not done now, and it’s still possible that some other team could come along and offer the Eagles more for Brown than the Patriots are offering, or that the planned trade could get derailed for other reasons. But based on what is known at the moment, Brown appears headed to New England.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel previously coached Brown with the Titans and would like to coach him again. There’s been no word on what the Patriots will send back to the Eagles for Brown, but one or more Patriots 2027 or 2028 draft picks would appear to be on the way to Philly when Brown is on his way to New England.
Eagles Clips
The World Cup is coming soon. And it’s quickly becoming a pain in the posterior for the 13 teams playing in stadiums that will be commandeered for intercontinental soccer.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal recently reviewed some of the practical impacts of FIFA bigfooting the various venues where fútbol will be played. This week, for example, the Jets and Giants will move their annual draft parties away from MetLife Stadium to Manhattan.
In all, 13 teams are impacted by the World Cup: the Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Falcons, Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, Chargers, Rams, Eagles, Seahawks, Patriots, and Dolphins.
For the teams that have employees at the stadiums hosting World Cup games, many will be moved. Those who are staying put will be subject to FIFA credentialing to get into their workplaces. And the Giants will start training camp in West Virginia, since MetLife Stadium will be hosting the final match on July 19 on a grass field that will need to be removed and replaced with one of the worst artificial surfaces in the entire league.
That last part still has to be the most galling for NFL players. Owners with stadiums that don’t have grass have bent over backwards to do whatever had to be done to placate FIFA. Their regular employees, however, will still be stuck with a lesser (and far cheaper) playing surface.
The various sacrifices involuntarily made by the players and other team employees should prompt FIFA to give them all a phony, made-up award. Especially since FIFA has already done that, for far less.
Former Bears and Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery has denied allegations in California of insurance fraud.
Earlier this week, TMZ reported that Jeffery was arrested and charged with a felony that carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more details, along with Jeffery’s denial.
The specific accusation is that Jeffery had been involved in an automobile accident on September 21, 2025. His insurance allegedly had lapsed. He thereafter purchased a new policy on September 24 and allegedly claimed the accident happened on September 28.
Denise White of EAG Sports Management told the Inquirer that the allegations are “unfounded.” She called the situation “a misunderstanding and nothing more.”
If it’s a misunderstanding, Jeffery’s top priority should be to get the prosecutors to understand. Instead, he reportedly failed to appear in court March 9. That led to the warrant for his arrest. He was freed on $25,000 bond. He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, April 23.
The case should be very simple to clarify. When did the accident happen? When was the insurance policy purchased? Did Jeffery have insurance in place when the accident happened?
A second-round pick in 2012, Jeffery spent five years with the Bears and four with the Eagles. He was a member of the Super Bowl LII-winning team in Philly.
Nick Foles is a beloved figure in Philly. He led the team to its first Super Bowl win. And he hardly has a reputation for being a guy who says controversial things for the sake of attention.
As to the question of the offseason for the Eagles — will they trade receiver A.J. Brown? — Foles has some information. He recently shared it on The SZN with Nick Foles & Evan Moore.
“They have a first-year coordinator in Sean Mannion,” Foles said. “You don’t want to deal with, you know, what they dealt with last year with A.J. Now, A.J. had merit looking back. Like, why was he frustrated? Well, it was the concepts of the offense and how it was [run] with Kevin Patullo. Looking back, that’s maybe what the frustration was. Was it with Jalen Hurts? I don’t know. I’m not in the facility. No idea. But because of those things and different people I know around the league that know A.J. a little bit . . .what I’ve gathered is, [he] wants to be traded, but I also think like he wants to be traded to specific places.
“I think New England would make a lot of sense because of his history [with coach Mike] Vrabel. I think that’s obvious, right? And I think he even said he grew up a Patriots fan, if I’m correct. So that would be like two-fold situation. But really because [G.M. Howie Roseman’s] not shutting it down. That’s a big thing. And he’s gonna have a lot of strategy behind it. He’s gonna get something he wants by — I think it’s going to come to a point where he realized last year was very difficult. This is Howie. And he doesn’t want to do that again with a first-year coordinator. If A.J. Brown’s not happy, which seems like he’s not super happy in Philly, but he’s got to give the lip service to say he is. They’re gonna try to find a way to hopefully make it right for him and make it right for the Eagles. And I’d imagine that Howie really respects A.J. And hopefully A.J. respects Howie to where they try to do right by each other and figure out a way that where A.J.'s happy and the Eagles are happy sort of thing.”
Foles added that, a couple of weeks ago, he thought there was an 80-percent chance Brown would not be traded. Foles said he’s not at “50-50" as to a trade occurring. Based on what Foles said after that, it sounds as if he’s at least at 51-49: “I do think he’ll get traded before the start of the season. Not sure when. I do think the New England Patriots make a lot of sense.”
June 1 continues to be the key date. After June 1, the Eagles would not take a cap acceleration in 2026; any dead money for 2027 and beyond would hit the salary cap in 2027.
And it’s possible that the Eagles already have a wink-nod deal in place with a specific team, perhaps the Patriots, after June 1. If so, there’s no reason for either side to blurt it out before the draft. The Eagles should let other teams think they may not be thinking about taking a receiver with any of their various picks, and the Patriots should let other teams think they could.
After the draft, it can then be announced that, come June 2, Brown will be a Patriot. Pending a physical, as we learned last month.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Ravens traded cornerback Jaire Alexander to the Eagles on Nov. 1, and he stepped away from football on Nov. 12 without playing a game for his new team. The Eagles retain his rights, so if he ever decides to return, it will be with Philadelphia unless the team releases him or trades him.
Alexander, 29, posted about his mental health struggles on social media on Wednesday and made it sound as if his football career is over.
“As much as I loved Baltimore, I didn’t love the position I was in,” Alexander wrote. “I had a bunch of internal battles with myself. I didn’t have that confidence in my abilities I once did. At corner, you need ultimate confidence in your abilities, and I felt it slipping away. It was at this moment I contemplated if I was making the right decision for my career. What helped me get through these times was not only God & my family, but I had some really cool teammates who made it fun to be there. I felt as if I let the organization down. My family and friends would drive up to see me, and I wasn’t even playing in the games. I never questioned God, but why me? All this while having a smile on my face. Football is a true gladiator sport, and once the confidence has gone, it’s time to hang it up. Thank you Flock Nation for embracing me. Thank you EDC for believing in me & thank you for the unlimited therapy sessions I had to encounter to help me with my time there. I am so grateful for the experience.”
Alexander made two Pro Bowls in eight seasons. He played seven seasons in Green Bay before the Packers released him last summer, and he appeared in two games with the Ravens last season.
The ability of players to cash in on name, image and likeness deals has changed college football, and it also changes the reality of pro football for some rookies who will make less money in the NFL than they made in college.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman said the he’s even more determined to draft players who truly love playing football now that the financial incentives for some of those players have changed.
“The biggest issue is that, for the first time in the history of the National Football League, you’re taking players who are taking pay cuts,” Roseman said. “So the character of those players, their passion and love of the game, comes to the forefront even more.”
One such player is Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers, who reportedly turned down NIL deals worth up to $8 million to stay in college when he entered last year’s draft. As a seventh-round pick, Ewers got a four-year, $4.3 million contract.
It will only become more common for players to enter the NFL and have to accept contracts that pay them less than they made in college. And NFL teams will want to know that those players won’t put in less effort when they’re paid less money.
The Eagles’ move to trade for receiver Dontayvion Wicks has only added to the speculation that the club is gearing up to move on from A.J. Brown, despite General Manager Howie Roseman’s insistence to the contrary.
Either way, Philadelphia has built up more depth in its receivers room with Wicks, who is a player the team has wanted to add.
“You see his skill set,” Roseman said on Tuesday, via Dave Spadaro of the team’s website. “He is a physical, explosive player at the top of routes.
“He can play inside or out, so he is a guy we had our eye on.”
Plus, the Eagles have members of their offensive staff who know him well, as new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and run game coordinator/tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey were both with Wicks in Green Bay. Mahaffey was the Packers’ receivers coach for the last two seasons.
“You see that Green Bay has had tremendous depth at the receiver position, he played well in our game [four catches for 38 yards on eight targets] and we had advanced scouted him and had looked at him through the years and, obviously, a really productive guy,” Roseman said. “But we’re also in a situation where you feel like you have inside knowledge about what the player is like to live with. Obviously, Ryan had been with him as his position coach, Sean had been with him on the offensive staff. You take away the risk of bringing in someone you don’t know when you have people who know him and who have worked with him.”
“He’s able to separate at the top of the route, and I think his toughness really shows up on tape,” head coach Nick Sirianni added. “Again, when you can create that type of separation, we obviously get really excited about that, really excited to add him to that room.”
In his 46 career games for the Packers, Wicks caught 108 passes for 1,328 yards with 11 touchdowns. In 2025, he had 30 receptions for 332 yards with two TDs.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman has one of the best track records in the NFL, but draft record isn’t perfect. And the misses still motivate him to get better.
Roseman said he frequently thinks about first-round draft picks he made who didn’t pan out, and he uses those picks as reminders of where he needs to get better.
“I think about the first-round picks I’ve missed on every day, really, if I’m being honest,” Roseman said. “When I think about those picks and the reasons I missed on those picks, sometimes I even overcompensate. So if you bring me somebody who looks like one of those guys, I’m gong to ask a lot of questions and be skeptical. They’ve also helped me really get better at my job. If it wasn’t for those mistakes, a lot of successful picks might not have happened. I can’t go back and change the past. I’m very comfortable understanding that as much as I try, I’m not going to be perfect, but I’m going to try my hardest to best to be as perfect as I can.”
Roseman didn’t name any names, but an obvious example is taking the disappointing wide receiver Jalen Reagor 21st overall in 2020, when the superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson went 22nd. That was a big miss, but Roseman says the big misses make him better.
Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman isn’t thinking primarily about drafting players who can help the Eagles win as rookies in 2026. Roseman is thinking about players who can help the Eagles win in 2027, 2028 and beyond.
Roseman said that a player who has the potential to develop into an All-Pro by Year 3 is more the type of player the Eagles want than a guy who might be a rookie starter but never take it to the next level.
“To come in and expect 21, 22 23-year-old players to be the best version of themselves, it’s probably a little naive,” Roseman said. “So just like all of us, these players need to be developed. We’ve got to figure out the things they are further along with and developed, and then have a lot of trust in our player development staff, our coaching staff, the people in this building to get the best out of them. Figure out what their strength is, what their weakness is, and work on those, get the best out of the player. A lot of time in the draft, we talk about, What could this player be in Year 3?”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni echoed those comments.
“As these guys get in here, it’s our job to develop them as coaches,” Sirianni said. “Regardless of the player that we bring in, age — whatever it may be, free agent, draft pick, undrafted free agent, we’re going to work our butts off to help them become better football players.”
