For a third straight year, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman acquired a receiver prior to the start of the regular season via trade.
Philadelphia added wideout Dontayvion Wicks in a trade with the Green Bay Packers last week, providing the Eagles with another pass-catching option in a room that has cycled through secondary targets over the last couple of seasons.
"When you look at our receiver room over the last couple of years -- obviously we lost Jahan (Dotson) -- we've probably been a little fortunate about the depth that we haven't really had to dive into," Roseman explained to reporters on Tuesday. "Just studying the league and seeing how many teams can go pretty deep in their receiver room, that was one of the priorities going into the offseason, was increasing the depth, the quality of talent in the receiver room throughout the room. So that really fit for us. Really excited to get Tay here and think he's an arrow-up guy."
Although the deal follows a trend for Roseman, this time might be different. Unlike in the past two seasons when Philadelphia procured Dotson and John Metchie III in August trades, the arrival of Wicks could signal another future move involving Philadelphia's best receiver, A.J. Brown. Just don't expect Roseman to tip his hand.
"What do you think the odds are that I'm answering this question any different than I answered it anywhere else?" Roseman replied when asked about Brown's future following the recent WR move. "Like really, do you think that's 50 percent? Do you think it's 75 percent?
"A.J. Brown's an Eagle."
It's no secret that Brown and the Eagles aren't on the best terms. Brown infamously aired his grievances with the team during the 2025 season when appearing on a popular Twitch streamer's live stream, referring to their offensive operation under since-fired coordinator Kevin Patullo as "a s---show." The comment forced Brown and other members of the organization to answer a fresh round of questions concerning Philadelphia's dysfunctional offense, a familiar setting for a club that was answering similar queries regarding the relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts a year earlier.
As is often said, winning cures all. In 2024, Philadelphia completed a run that culminated in a lopsided win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, seemingly cleansing the Eagles of their issues.
That wasn't the case in 2025. Philadelphia never answered its offensive issues and flopped in a Wild Card Weekend upset loss to the San Francisco 49ers, bringing a merciful end to a second exasperating season in the last three years.
Patullo was promptly let go from his role, but that didn't solve everything. Rumors regarding Brown's availability have persisted, causing rival contenders to salivate at the thought of adding Brown to their roster.
Roseman has held firm, refusing to dangle Brown as an available asset publicly. With the draft just nine days away, some might believe it could prompt action on Roseman's part. There's also the matter of salary cap savings. If the Eagles trade Brown before June 1, they will take a $20 million cap hit; a post-June 1 trade would save Philadelphia roughly $7 million.
As he did regarding Brown's status, Roseman offered little insight.
"Nothing that we've done up until this point will affect the evaluations we have on draft day," Roseman said.
As we continue to tear off pages from the desktop calendar, Brown remains an Eagle. We'll see if that changes anytime soon.
