Blame A.J. Brown, Not Howie Roseman, For Impending Trade Of Eagles Receiver

Blame will go to Howie Roseman once A.J. Brown is finally traded sometime around June 1. Already, the noise is stirring on some national radio shows wondering why the Eagles’ general manager would want to deal a potential Hall of Fame receiver, and one of the 10 best in the NFL, at the moment, with a Super Bowl window still wide open.

Except…it’s not Roseman’s fault. It’s all Brown.

The pass catcher, who had trouble actually doing his job and catching passes at the end of last season, especially in the playoff loss to the 49ers, doesn’t want to be in Philly any longer.

It’s really that simple.

It was Roseman, after all, who wanted Brown badly enough that, just two years ago, on April 25, he gave Brown a three-year contract extension worth $92 million, with $84M in guarantees and $51M handed over at the time Brown signed the deal.

The contract was supposed to keep him in Philly until 2029, when he would turn 32, an age where another contract would still be possible.

Sometimes the best laid plans…

A.J. Brown Clearly Wanted Out

A lot has changed since then. Most of those changes were enacted by Brown, with his cryptic social media posts, his outspoken criticism of the Eagles’ offense, his declining desire to block, and his lack of focus, which resulted in those dropped passes.

Roseman may have grown weary of it, which is why he is looking to trade Brown. But, again, it’s not the GM’s fault. He will deal any unhappy player. He dealt Carson Wentz five years ago, just one year after handing the quarterback one of the biggest contracts in team history.

Ironically, it was one of the picks – a first-rounder in 2022 – that Roseman landed from the Colts in the deal that was used to acquire Brown on draft night four years ago.

Roseman unloaded Zach Ertz because the tight end saw the shift in offensive philosophy away from him and to Dallas Goedert, sending him to Arizona nearly five years ago and just weeks before the 2021 trade deadline. Ertz, who should someday be enshrined in the Eagles’ Hall of Fame, has made 356 catches since leaving the Eagles for 2,325 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Now comes Brown, who has said all the right things this offseason on those rare moments he pops up on a podcast or two. It’s hard to believe how genuine it is when his actions speak louder than words.

He is allergic to the Eagles’ risk-averse offense, which puts a premium on ball safety rather than putting it in harm’s way. Brown also understands that he isn’t the No. 1 option in the pass game. Not as often as he would like to be, anyway.

He sees the steady decline in his numbers from his triumphant first season in town, when he set the team record for most yards in a season with 1,496, to 1,456 to 1,079 to last year, when he barely scraped above 1,000 to end with 1,003.

That he hasn’t come right out and requested a trade, like Dexter Lawrence did with the Giants, is a testament to Roseman and his desire to do what’s best for the player but what is also best for the team. The GM doesn’t talk about it publicly. That courtesy is extended by the players because they know the GM will accommodate them if they want out badly enough.

“In terms of why we did this, it was about opportunity,” Roseman said after dealing away Ertz. “Opportunity for the Eagles, opportunity for Zach, as we move forward.”

That’s how this deal will be painted, too – an opportunity for both the Eagles and Brown. It’s not what the Eagles wanted, though. It’s what Brown wanted.

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