The Philadelphia Eagles have been busy this offseason, which was to be expected after they flamed out of the playoffs in the wild-card round last year. However, one of the biggest moves saw them get rid of superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown, as he was traded to the New England Patriots at the start of June.
Losing Brown, who is one of the top pass-catchers in the league, obviously hurts, but in some ways, it could actually make Philadelphia better. If you ask former Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall, he thinks the Eagles will actually benefit from Brown’s departure for one big reason.
DeAngelo Hall Dishes on Eagles’ A.J. Brown Trade
The 2025 campaign was a tumultuous one when it came to Brown’s relationship with the Eagles. He put up solid numbers (78 REC, 1,003 YDS, 7 TD), but he was frustrated with his sporadic involvement in Philadelphia’s passing game, and he made that very clear several times when publicly discussing the team’s offense.
This isn’t the first time that tension has run rampant throughout Philly’s locker room, but the whole Brown situation continued to hang over the team. Trade rumors obviously were something the team has dealt with for some time now, but reports also indicated that his relationship with Jalen Hurts soured as his time with the team unfolded.
Philadelphia has made several moves to replace Brown at the wide receiver position this offseason, and it also helps that it has DeVonta Smith waiting in the wings to take over as the No. 1 receiver. Put that all together, and Hall thinks the team’s decision to trade Brown to the Patriots will be addition by subtraction.
“Distractions just take the focus off of football and winning games, and this caused a ton of distractions in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room,” Hall said in an interview with Hard Rock Bet. “Even when they won games, there was always talk about Brown’s stats and whether he got enough targets. There was always something. So, now they can wash their hands, and there’s no more Jalen versus A.J. talk.”
Eagles Moving on From A.J. Brown Trade Drama
GettyNew England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown.
For as talented as Brown is, all the headaches that came with him were eventually too much for the Eagles to deal with. Smith will lead the way moving forward, with offseason additions such as Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Marquise Brown, and Elijah Moore set to factor in at this spot behind him.
If Philly’s offense can band together, this group has more than enough talent to return to the top of the NFC. There will certainly be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to adapting to life without Brown, but there’s no reason this team can’t win the NFC East division once again. And assuming they can do so, the Eagles will be dead set on making a championship run in an effort to help prove that they made the right call to unload Brown this offseason.
Former Pro Bowl Cornerback Gets Brutally Honest on Eagles’ A.J. Brown Trade