One of the biggest hurdles to the Philadelphia Eagles hiring an offensive coordinator might be instability on that side of the ball — instability seems to generally center around one player.
That player, controversial wide receiver A.J. Brown, might be on his way out of town.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles could be on the verge of doing something earth-shaking when it comes to Brown, who has been a popular trade candidate since the moment the season ended with a home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the AFC Divisional Round.
Appearing on Philadelphia’s 97.5 FM The Fan on Wednesday, Schefter was discussing the possibility of the Eagles finding their offensive coordinator in the coming days or next week, even, and was asked to come back on and discuss the hire if and when it happens.
“And … maybe it’ll be even more than that by next week,” Schefter said. ” … maybe it will be more of a discussion than an offensive coordinator. We’ll see.”
Still almost 2 weeks out from free agency, there is only one other move by the Eagles that would move the richter scale at all, and that’s trading Brown.
Brown: Constant Headache for Eagles
If the Eagles do trade Brown, it’s going to have be a whopper of a deal because of the financial ramifications — the Eagles would take on a $43.5 million dead cap hit so they would need something in the range of multiple second round picks or a first round pick in return.
In Brown’s case, it might be worth it.
Over the last 2 years, Brown has been an incessant complainer and one of the most divisive players in the league for how much he’s complained about not getting the ball, how the offense is run, and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Brown has complained when the Eagles were winning and when they were losing, including throwing a temper tantrum over not getting the ball in the midst of a 10-game winning streak in 2024.
Things came to a head in the NFC Wild Card Round loss to the 49ers, with a screaming match between Brown and head coach Nick Sirianni in the first half that required head of security Dom “Big Dom” DiSandro to step in between them.
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If Brown is traded, it’ll be the second time he’s been at the center of a blockbuster trade.
The Eagles obtained Brown before the 2022 season in a trade with the Tennessee Titans that is considered one of the more lopsided deals in NFL history in retrospect. The Eagles gave up a first round pick the Titans used on wide receiver Treylon Burks, who scored 1 touchdown in 3 seasons before he was released.
The Eagles got one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers in return.
In 4 seasons, Brown has been a 3-time NFL All-Pro, had over 1,000 receiving yards each year, made the playoffs each season and played in 2 Super Bowls, winning one after the 2024 season.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox has the Buffalo Bills projected as the best trade partner for Brown and the Eagles.
Brown is also paid like one of the NFL’s elite wide receivers. He signed a 4-year, $100 million contract extension with the Eagles after the trade in 2022 and signed a 3-year, $96 million contract extension before the 2024 season that keeps him under contract through 2029.
NFL Insider Hints Eagles on Verge of Massive Trade