On the Eagles: Call A Lid On A.J. 'Angst Season'

PHILADELPHIA - You can officially call a lid on A.J. angst season for 2025.

Not that Eagles' superstar receiver A.J. Brown can't express frustration with an often inconsistent, low-volume passing offense but the cottage industry of trade rumors that constantly swirl around the superstar have to take a break.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman wanted to keep reporters on-topic at his post-trade deadline video conference on Tuesday.

For Roseman that meant discussing trade pickups Jaelan Phillips, Michael Carter II, and Jaire Alexander. However, just as newsworthy is what didn't happen and the persistent rumors about Brown's status with the organization was not only fair game, it was a question that had to be asked.

From what we've gathered at Eagles On SI, interest in the two-time second-team All-Pro from others was real and Roseman received at least a few overtures about the star WR.

None were taken seriously.

Hard To Trade Great Players

Eagles GM Howie Roseman speaks with reporters via video conference after the 2025 NFL trade deadline on Nov. 4, 2025. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

Roseman avoided specifics, instead redirecting the narrative to organizational philosophy, which believes in getting difference-makers into the building at the NovaCare Complex, not shipping them out, especially went a fourth Super Bowl berth in nine years is a realistic possibility.

"I think that when you're trying to be a great team, it's hard to trade great players, and A.J. Brown is a great player," Roseman said. "He wears the 'C' [captain designation] for a reason. He's an important part of this team, of this organization. He cares about winning, he cares about his teammates, and I think that when you're a team like ours, that is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a championship, you just don't get rid of guys like that."

Brown missed the Eagles' Oct. 26 win against the New York Giants with a hamstring injury and is expected to return to the lineup Nov. 10 at Green Bay.

In seven games played this season, Brown has 29 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns. At that pace, if Brown played the rest of the regular season, he would be on track to tally 66 receptions for 903 yards. In the superstar's first three seasons in Philadelphia, his low-point was 67 catches for 1,079 yards when he played just 13 games in the 2024 regular season.

At times this year, Brown has expressed his frustration with a setup where opportunities are limited and often stymied by a hyper-focus on ball-security and playing it safe.

While the deadline passing will quell the rumor mill surrounding Brown that has become a staple of an NFL insider column, the trajectory of the rest of the season for the WR1 should be monitored.

If the ultimate goal is not met by the Eagles and there is more angst and cryptic social-media postings along the way to that disappointing endgame, Philadelphia may actually start debating the cost-benefit analysis of moving forward with arguably their best pure football player in the offseason when a post-June 1 trade designation is far more manageable from a salary-cap standpoint.

In other words, perception could become reality.

For now though, it's all systems go for Brown and the offense.

"Feel very lucky to have [Brown] on our team, and excited about the second half of the season with him," Roseman said.

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