Eagles

Four Takeaways from Howie Roseman’s Press Conference After A.J. Brown Trade

By Matt Schultz

Published: Jun 2nd, 2026 · 11:13 AM EDT

---

We’ve reached the end of this long and winding road: the Eagles traded A.J. Brown to the Patriots on Monday for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, and Howie Roseman spoke to the beat writers in a press availability that wasn’t streamed on YouTube or social. Here are the most noteworthy things he said:

Roseman finally admits that A.J. Brown wanted to be traded 

ROSEMAN: “You know, I think that the conversations that we had with A.J., I think that he just felt for his family that this stage of his career, it was something that he was desiring, that he was looking forward to. And all our conversations, very positive about his experiences in Philly, just felt like going forward that that was something that he preferred.

“When we look at last year, and there was a lot of talk about him during the trade deadline, he was all in and trying to win another championship last year. We sat down after the season, had conversations, continued to have those conversations throughout the offseason. And again, you know, like for us, we wouldn’t have done this trade if there wasn’t a first round pick plus included. Obviously, you go into these, you have a feel for the player and what he’s done for your team, and it’s hard to pull the trigger on these. 

“But after those conversations and where we are and the players that we have coming up that we want to extend, being able to get this first round pick and getting some of the cap and cash relief. We felt like maybe this could be a win-win spot for both sides.” (Jimmy Kempski at PhillyVoice).

After months of sidestepping rumors about A.J. Brown wanting a trade, Howie finally comes out and says what we’ve all known for a long time: A.J. was unhappy and wanted out. I appreciate that Howie held on to A.J. as long as he could hoping he’d change his mind, but at the end of the day, if a star player wants out, he’s going to get what he wants. 

But Howie doesn’t divulge much on why

ROSEMAN: “I just think that, that happens sometimes. You can have a really good run with somebody and [he] just feels like, ‘Hey, you know, the next stage of my career, I feel like it’ll be better served kind of starting fresh.’ I think that, again, 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.” (Dave Zangaro at NBC Sports Philadelphia)

This is a non-answer, but what else is he gonna say? Howie obviously knows why A.J. was unhappy, whatever it was – his relationship with Jalen Hurts souring, the pass game being consistently underwhelming, the coaching staff, a mix of all this stuff, or something else entirely – but the GM isn’t going to tell us. Not much to be gained for him there. I would still love to know, though. Maybe A.J. will tell us one of these days. 

The Eagles feel good about the return they got

ROSEMAN: “I think that when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and having the conversations we had with him,” Roseman said, “felt like where we were, where we were going, where he was, that if we could find something that 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.” (Dave Spadaro at Eagles’ website)

I agree with this. Considering everyone in the world knew that A.J. wanted out, the fact that Howie was able to get a first-round pick back in this deal is worth celebrating. There was a world where A.J. completely torpedoed any leverage the Eagles had, and Howie would’ve had to send the star receiver out for pennies on the dollar. That’s not what happened here, which is very nice. 

The Eagles value first-round picks more than other aggressive teams (The Rams)

ROSEMAN: “We’ve always been in the mindset that a pick is a pick. A first round pick is a first round pick. Doesn’t matter. The team is still going to be playing football in 2028. We did that with Haason with the Jets where we took a third-round pick two years later, because it was really important for us to get the right value. 

“And I think from our perspective, getting a first-round pick for our team, having two first-round picks in 2028 is a huge, huge part of this move. I think that when you look at that and obviously the options of what you’re able to do with having multiple first-round picks, it’s a huge game changer and feel very, very confident that those picks are the most valuable things that you can add as you’re building your team. And so I think I know there’s a lot of attention on the 2027 draft, but at the same time, looking at the 2028 draft, I feel confident that that’s going to be a good draft as well and that we’ll be in a position to really improve our football team.” (Zach Berman at The Athletic)

I thought this was the most noteworthy part of the press conference, especially in light of what the Rams did on Monday, and their general, longstanding “Fuck them picks” philosophy. It’s interesting to hear just how differently Howie likes to build his team. Howie is a stockpiler. He’s not averse to spending big on free agents like Saquon Barkley, but he’s a GM who likes to keep his war chest loaded too, in case 1) a trade becomes available or 2) he likes a player in the draft that he can scoop. This approach allows for maximum flexibility, which I’d say is a real good thing overall – even if it would’ve been pretty damn exciting to send out one million picks for Myles Garrett on Monday.