Eagles' Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni 'can't guarantee' anything about A.J. Brown saga amid trade rumors

A recent report suggested that the Philadelphia Eagles may not be in a hurry to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown after some have assumed a divorce involving the two sides was all but inevitable. 

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni could have poured cold water over such trade rumors during a recent session with media members at the site of the scouting combine. Roseman and Sirianni instead may have said plenty by what they didn't say about Brown's uncertain future. 

Eagles sound "kind of open" for any A.J. Brown outcome

"You never know if someone is going to give you something that you didn't anticipate, and if you won't even have the conversation, I don't think you're necessarily doing your job or really servicing the team that you're with. You never know what someone's willing to do," Roseman explained, per Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "And certainly we've been in situations where there are guys that we didn't anticipate trading that we got an offer (for) that was too good, and then you balance it with what you can get there. So without getting into specifics on any player, we're always listening, and we're always kind of open. There's very few things that I would shoot down without even hearing what that means, because how does it hurt to listen?"

Questions about the relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts have hovered over the Eagles since at least the 2024 season. This past campaign, Brown repeatedly made it known that he was frustrated with his role as part of an offense that routinely failed to impress with its performances. 

During Philadelphia's 23-19 wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 11, Brown and Sirianni got into a heated exchange. Brown also committed multiple costly drops in that defeat. 

Nick Sirianni has this "expectation" for A.J. Brown

"My expectation is he wants to be here," Sirianni said about Brown while speaking with reporters. "And, obviously, you always want good players like that in your building. Will A.J. be here next season? I mean, I think that we're still in a spot, like, I can't guarantee how anything's going to play out into the next season. I can't guarantee that. I mean, I was thinking I'm going to be the head coach next season, but it's like you can't guarantee anything past tomorrow." 

Back in the spring of 2024, Brown and the Eagles agreed to a three-year, $96M contract extension with $84M in guaranteed money. According to Tim McManus of ESPN, the Eagles would absorb a dead-cap hit of over $40M if they trade Brown before June 1. That number would decrease to less than $20M in dead-cap money if a trade is completed after June 1. 

"A.J. is a great player and A.J. is a good teammate and A.J. is a good person," Sirianni added during his comments. "And so, like I said earlier, yeah, does he want to be here? Yes. And do I want him to be here? Yes. So, you know, hopefully that works out." 

It may be telling that neither Roseman nor Sirianni could confirm that Brown will still be with the Eagles when training-camp practices begin later this summer. According to ESPN stats, Brown ended this past regular season ranked first on the team with 78 receptions and second with 1,003 receiving yards. Over 15 games, he recorded seven touchdown catches.