Eagles GM Howie Roseman Breaks Silence on AJ Brown Trade

After months of speculation, the Philadelphia Eagles traded wide receiver AJ Brown to the New England Patriots for a 2028 first-round and 2027 fifth-round pick.

Following the trade, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman explained why the trade made sense for both teams – and why it made sense to move on from a star player while still fighting for the NFC crown.

"I think that when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and having the conversations we had with him, felt like where we were, where we were going, where he was, that if we could find something that kind of achieved our goals of getting a first-round pick going forward here in the near future, getting the money back to spend on other players on our team and other teams, and it was a win-win situation based on where he was and how he felt, we were open to that," Roseman said.

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Roseman admitted that Brown approached the team to say he’d like to play elsewhere.

"You can have a really good run with somebody, and just feel like, ‘Hey, the next stage of my career, I feel like it will be better served, kind of starting fresh'," Roseman said. "The conversations with him overall were positive and just honest conversations, and I think it just kind of got to a point where it made some sense from both sides."

Philadelphia famously jumped the Pittsburgh Steelers to select former USC wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft as a potential replacement for Brown before he was traded.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 7:27 AM.