There were signs that AJ Brown's time with the Philadelphia Eagles could be over following their early exit in last season's playoffs. He had a spat with coach Nick Sirianni in their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round and refused to talk to the media afterward.
Perhaps more importantly, Brown played poorly against the 49ers, leading many to theorize that the Eagles will trade him in the offseason. A young fan even went viral after he hilariously implored Brown to leave.
The Ringer's Bill Simmons recently reacted to the possibility of the New England Patriots trading for Brown, especially after the release of Stefon Diggs.
While Simmons admitted that he does not want the Patriots to overpay for Brown, he said he can convince himself to support the move. On the latest episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” he doubled down on possibly seeing the 28-year-old wide receiver in New England, calling it “still realistic.”
“Nobody has been able to explain to me why Philadelphia would want to run it back with $50 million for Jalen Hurts and $60 million for the two receivers, when they have this GM (general manager) who is great at drafting everybody and bringing in guys year after year,” said Simmons on his podcast.
“(It's) a draft that people seem to like the wide receivers a little bit more as we get into the second and third rounds. I just can’t imagine they’ll (Eagles) be like, ‘Let's just run this back, he’ll be definitely happier this year.'”
Brown helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2025, but since then, he has grown unhappy with his role.
His numbers dipped a bit last season, although he was still a key cog in the system. Jalen Hurts repeatedly touted Brown's impact on the team, but the latter seemed to be unmoved.
A change of scenery might be good for Brown.
