Rams and Eagles were ‘further along’ with A.J. Brown trade than we knew

According to Adam Schefter, the Los Angeles Rams were “further along at one point than people realized” regarding a trade of A.J Brown with the Philadelphia Eagles, but no trade came to fruition.

I’ve been taking the approach that the Rams and Eagles had talks about a trade for Brown, but I never knew or could find how close they got. Even with Schefter’s recent information, we still don’t know what the framework or cost would’ve looked like between the Rams and Eagles for Brown.

Would the Rams have sent Davante Adams? Would they have sent Puka Nacua? How about big draft capital? No one has factually been able to articulate what the trade would’ve looked like, just that both parties were interested, and apparently that a trade was very possible “at one point.”

Diana Russini had reported that the Rams and New England Patriots had both been interested in Brown, how interested? Good question.

Schefter had this to say about the Rams, A.J. Brown and Russini:

““The way I do my job is I weigh in when there are things that matter and when there’s news. There have been plenty of trade talks that have gone on that I’ve known about. Let’s put it this way, how about this: The Eagles and Rams were further along at one point than people realized. Was that out there? Was that out there. Was Dianna on that? Were other people on that? I don’t know, but it was and at one point, I remember thinking, ‘Boy, there’s a chance it’s gonna get done with the Rams.’ And I was waiting to report it and it didn’t get done.”

It seems that Schefter’s point is that the Rams potential trade for Brown wasn’t smoke or mirrors (the way I had thought), but it was something real that almost happened, and would’ve rocked the 2026 offseason perhaps bigger than any other move that’s been made so far.

Yet, no one reported the teams were THAT close.

Maybe (like me) you are tired of the Rams and Brown saga, but I say: “Stay tuned”, because if the Rams were close to dealing for Brown not too long ago, then they could get close to dealing for him again.

In the modern news cycle, it shouldn’t take much for the Rams and Brown rumors to heat up, even if there has been no clear framework or exact compensation between the Rams and Eagles for Brown to be reported on.

It’s the modern NFL, rumors are news, and the fact that two teams were closer to a trade than people realized, now that that’s out there, that’s news.