Eagles' Howie Roseman Plays Four-Corners on A.J. Brown

The Philadelphia GM tried to avoid adding accelerant to the Brown rumor mill that’s become a cottage industry.

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Howie Roseman straddled the fence with A.J. Brown at the NFL’s Annual Meeting on Sunday in Phoenix.

The Eagles GM went full Dean Smith, deploying a four-corners offense: refusing to confirm that the star receiver will be back with Philadelphia for a fifth season, while carefully avoiding tossing any accelerant onto the rumor mill that has become a cottage industry around Brown.

It was almost the NFL GM version of Marshawn Lynch at the Super Bowl — “I’m here so I don’t get fined” morphing into “A.J. Brown is a member of the Eagles.”

It would seem pretty simple for Roseman to offer clarity if Brown were firmly in the organization’s plans for 2026. Instead, the telenovela marches on, with the draft, post-June 1, training camp, and the trade deadline all serving as potential inflection points for a Brown trade.

At this stage, a move may or may not be discussed 10 to 15 minutes before the three-time Second-Team All-Pro is inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

Roseman did claim that any uncertainty with Brown— imagined or otherwise — does not affect his ability to build the roster.

Roster Construction

To date, the Eagles have added free-agent speedsters Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore (a good friend of Brown’s) and could be in the market to draft another wide receiver with a premium pick in April’s draft, which is considered deep at the position.

“Roster construction, from a macro perspective, is going to be based on vision,” Roseman said. “That vision doesn’t change by one particular player.”

Feel free to call shenanigans on the idea that moving on from Brown wouldn’t meaningfully impact what the Eagles will do at the WR position.

However, Roseman echoed the same “stretching the field” concept that head coach Nick Sirianni leaned on during Quez Watkins’ first stint with the team.

“There have been times on our offense where we’ve really had that vertical skill set, but also a guy who can separate at the top of his routes,” Roseman said. “… I always look at our teams in ’17 — I thought Nelson [Agholor] did a great job of that, bringing that to the team. I think you look in ’22 and Quez [Watkins] did a good job of that.“… I think that really fits the skill set of our quarterback.”

The idea of creating space for Brown (if he’s here) and DeVonta Smith is going to be central to what new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion wants to accomplish.