Nick Sirianni breaks silence about Eagles trading A.J. Brown to Patriots

Throughout the offseason, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni routinely responded to questions about the future of wide receiver A.J. Brown by noting that "A.J.'s an Eagle." 

That's no longer the case, as the Eagles officially traded Brown to the New England Patriots. On Tuesday, Sirianni spoke with media members for the first time since the Brown trade became official. 

Nick Sirianni: A.J. Brown had a "good run" with the Eagles

"I would say there was a lot of good years here, and done a lot of good things with A.J. here — two times in the Super Bowl, I think he was [an] All-Pro multiple times, Pro Bowl multiple times. So, I would say it was a good run," Sirianni said about Brown's Philadelphia tenure, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "But, really excited about that room that we have. (Presumed new WR1) DeVonta Smith has had a really good offseason, has had five good years of being an Eagle as well. Very, very productive. And excited that he’s going to get extra opportunities that he works so hard to…that people convert that. Really excited about [rookie Makai Lemon] and where he is this offseason, and just his ability to catch the football, his toughness. I think that’s a great addition to that room."

While with the Eagles from 2022 through the 2025 campaign, Brown earned two Pro Bowl nods and one Super Bowl championship ring. However, he also seemed to cause Sirianni and Co. plenty of headaches over the past couple of seasons. 

In what became his last game as a Philadelphia player -- the Eagles' 23-19 wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers this past January -- Brown and Sirianni got into a heated exchange on the sideline. The perception now exists that at least some Eagles players are glad Brown has a different employer heading into the 2026 season. 

Nick Sirianni glad to have Howie Roseman as a teammate

In the end, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman accepted a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Patriots for Brown. Some have suggested the Eagles should have attempted to get a better return for the 28-year-old, but Sirianni doesn't seem to have any problem with how things played out. 

"What a good teammate that I have with Howie Roseman to be able to go to battle with," Sirianni added. "So many things that [Brown] did that [were] good for our football team, and always will wish him the best of luck. But, like I said, really excited about the guys in that room and where we are. But this is a team game, to your question, and every decision that I make and decisions that Howie makes, we talk to each other about it."

Sirianni and Roseman will now look to show that they were right to move on from Brown when his value as a tradeable asset was worth what the Patriots paid to acquire him.