Eagles' Dontayvion Wicks Move Made A.J. Brown Decision Obvious

(Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)

The Philadelphia Eagles have done nothing but show us over the past few weeks that they're willing to move on from AJ Brown. Whether that means moving him before the NFL Draft or something else, Philadelphia is certainly in a position to move on from him.

The Eagles have shown over the past few months that they're looking to improve their wide receiver room, whether that's an indication of moving on from Brown or not. Everybody seems to believe that's the case, and it makes a lot of sense.

Trading for Dontayvion Wicks a few days ago in a deal with the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia put itself in another position to possibly move on from Brown. There would be no reason to continue making these moves unless the Eagles believe they're going to move on from a player in the near future.

That was similar to what Albert Breer had to say about the situation in Philadelphia.

“The Eagles now have at least built in the flexibility to move A.J. Brown after June 1. By now, you should know the realities of this situation: If Philadelphia trades Brown today, all the dead money (money Philly pushed forward previously in the contract for cap relief) will accelerate on to its 2026 cap, creating a dead-money hit of $43.515 million. If the Eagles move him after June 1, they’d push $27.161 million of that charge over to their 2027 cap (leaving just the $16.353 million in cap debt already on their 2026 cap)... So the lingering question, accounting for all this, is what Philly would do at the position if Brown isn’t part of their equation for 2026. We have some answers now. Friday’s trade for Packers veteran Dontayvion Wicks was the latest one.

"They’d already signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore. And they have six of the first 137 picks in a receiver-deep draft. Now, to expect any one of those three—or a rookie—to be what A.J. Brown has been for the team would be stupid. But put together, they’re complementary pieces to place around DeVonta Smith and at least make the idea of dealing their three-time All-Pro receiver without turning the position into a weakness feasible,” Breer wrote.

It's important to look at what the Eagles have done in the body of work throughout the entire offseason. This hasn't just been a move or two for depth, as the Eagles have actually gone out and tried to improve on that side of the football. All indications point to him being traded, but there has been some chatter that it won't happen, according to some insiders and higher-ups in Philadelphia.