Chargers Should Leave A.J. Brown Trade Drama to Rams

As hinted in prior reports, Brown’s contract and how it impacts the Eagles’ cap outlook is what has caused delays. 

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots are the teams still in the running for Brown, in terms of interest. 

But the timeline just isn’t adding up. 

“Both teams in recent weeks discussed trading for Brown, whose frustrations in Philadelphia were a running subplot of the Eagles’ 2025 season,” Russini wrote. “While the Rams and Patriots remain interested, no move is imminent. If a trade were to happen, league sources say it would likely heat up closer to June 1.”

Maybe the kicker, from a Chargers standpoint: “A league source believed the Eagles were trying to get multiple teams competing for Brown before free agency began, but with an incredibly high asking price.”

There’s an outside chance the Chargers did some very brief due diligence on the Brown situation as a basic matter of business. Then, they were dragged into the rumor mill for obvious reasons. 

Brown seems like a fun idea for the Chargers. But before any contract reworks or whatever else a trade might take, there’s the fact he’s around a $23 million cap hit in each of the next few seasons, too. 

The Chargers won’t want to waste limited draft assets and players right now via trade, nor should they want to wait around until the start of June. That’s especially true given how their spending habits haven’t changed to reflect a sense of urgency around McDaniel’s arrival. 

It’s best for the Chargers to have a cemented idea of what the depth chart looks like by June, anyway. 

Moving forward, any mention of the Chargers and Brown can safely be considered meaningless noise, barring a shocker.

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter