The Philadelphia Eagles crashed and burned down the stretch of last season, losing six of their last seven games, which culminated in an embarrassing Wild Card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Many felt such a drastic drop-off mandated sweeping changes, both to the coaching staff and the roster. Nick Sirianni ultimately kept his job, but not without landing two high-profile coordinators in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has mostly kept the same core, minus a few key departures (Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick).
The Eagles should, by all metrics, bounce back to some level of contention. There’s too much blatant talent on the roster and, ideally, Sirianni learned his lesson after flubbing last season. Philadelphia needs a more balanced offensive game plan, a more disciplined pass defense, and the restoration of positive vibes.
That last bit is probably an underrated part of last season’s collapse. The Eagles’ entire locker room appeared to fall apart, with Siranni losing the faith of his players that was so evident during Philadelphia’s 2023 Super Bowl run. Now Siranni needs to win it back, and the Eagles’ leaders need to instill optimism in the locker room.
A.J. Brown was among the more openly frustrated players during the Eagles’ late-season collapse. He recently ignited trade rumors by changing his profile picture on X (Twitter) to a photo of Tom Brady, sparking in some the idea that Brown could seek a trade to the WR-needy New England Patriots. Heck, maybe Tom Brady would even join him with Bill Belichick out of the picture.
That’s a fun thought and all, but don’t expect it to, you know, actually happen.
On NBC Sports Boston, NFL insider Albert Breer slammed the door shut on a potential A.J. Brown trade, saying the Eagles have rebuffed all advances from opposing front offices.
.@AlbertBreer and @PhilAPerry react to the A.J. Brown speculation on social media today after he changed his avatar to a photo of Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/uGnrCqUbpM
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) April 18, 2024
Eagles won’t trade A.J. Brown to Patriots (or any other team) before season
Of course the Eagles aren’t going to trade Brown, who is under contract through 2026 with an annual average salary of $25 million. Even with DeVonta Smith recently re-signed to an extension (also worth $25 million annually), Philadelphia has no incentive to trade arguably the best wide receiver in the NFC.
Despite injuries and the Eagles’ general malaise down the stretch, Brown managed a spectacular 2023 campaign. He appeared in all 17 regular season games for Philadelphia, reeling in 106 catches for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged a hearty 13.7 yards per reception, working in tandem with Smith to form the NFC’s most explosive pass-catching duo.
The entire Eagles offense stalled in the final weeks, so if anything, Brown’s numbers are under-inflated. He was once again Jalen Hurts’ favorite target by a noticeable margin. Brown is reliable on every manner of route, whether it’s patiently working over the middle and executing on intermediate passes — something the Eagles went away from far too much late in the season — or breaking defenses open with his vertical speed.
New England and several other teams would be lucky to roster Brown, even on a pricey contract, but the 26-year-old is in Philadelphia for the long haul. It will take more than a perceived sleight on social media to get Howie Roseman to trade the crowning accomplishment of his GM tenure.
