Eagles Aren't In the Business Of Trading Difference-Makers

It could have been even better if Hurts had not overthrown DeVonta Smith on a blown coverage that could have resulted in a long TD, and identified a streaking Brown in the middle of the field for a TD with the Eagles’ driving while down 27-17 in the fourth quarter.

Instead, Hurts put an out pattern on the inside shoulder of Jahan Dotson, which Giants’ cornerback Cor’Dale Flott undercut it and returned 68 yards, a near pick-six that essentially sealed the game for Big Blue.

It’s not boiling over, but the frustration is simmering for an organization that has lost twice in five days after previously going unbeaten for a calendar year when Hurts had started and finished the game.

And Brown noted it’s “uncomfortable” to learn from losing.

“We just have to fix the things you’re struggling with and learn by winning,” the star wideout said. “Right now, we’re on the other side, we’re losing, and we have to learn from losing, and it’s very uncomfortable. 

“It’s easy to learn from winning because you feel OK about it, but this stings. If it stings bad enough, things will change.”

Do the Eagles want things to change?

Is Change Needed?

Jeffrey Lurie has always wanted a dynamic passing offense for his team, believing that’s needed for the kind of sustained success that is now the Eagles’ standard, a mindset that hasn’t shifted even after Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX championship was built on the foundation of historic offensive line play and a superstar running back in Saquon Barkley.

It’s also always a good idea to follow the money with any business if you are trying to understand ownership, and Lurie’s proactive investments in Brown and Smith speak volumes.

For all the talk about meetings in Philadelphia (and that’s all NFL teams do by the way), Lurie, a self-described questioner, actually took out some of the key offensive players for a dinner in September, according to a team source.

The idea was to clip the early-season offensive struggles in the bud by fostering more team chemistry.

Outside of Philadelphia, however, other league executives are operating from the only playbook they know, fueling the speculation on Brown.

“Brown doesn’t look frustrated or mad — he looks indifferent,” an AFC GM told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. “And that’s not a good place to be. I think Howie moves him. It would have to be for the right player or pick, but (a trade) wouldn’t surprise me. 

“Howie likes deals, especially if a player’s value overrides how Brown is being used.”

There is some truth to that conclusion in that Roseman gets antsy when standing still, and he’s usually ahead of the game when it comes to valuation.

That said, the reason Roseman is on a trajectory to receive a gold jacket as the NFL’s best personnel executive of his era is his core philosophy of doing everything possible to get difference-makers in the door, like when he originally acquired Brown from Tennessee on draft night in 2022.   

The Eagles gave Brown a four-year, $100 million deal when they got him from the Titans, and proactively extended the superstar another three years and $96M in April of 2024, long before the contract had to be addressed.

In short, Roseman isn’t in the business of letting identified stars out of the NovaCare Complex.

And the only way that changes before Nov. 4 is if the Eagles assess Brown as a rapidly declining player at the age of 28 or Brown himself goes the toxic route, paths in which there is little evidence to support.