Howie Roseman apparently proposed idea of 'split' A.J. Brown trade

The Eagles do not have to trade A.J. Brown, but it's perhaps telling how willing general manager Howie Roseman is to consider the possibility.

In fact, NFL Media's Mike Garafolo outlined an outside-the-box idea Roseman apparently had in conversations with apparent suitors, which was ultimately shot down. 

"...The other thing that I have come to understand ... and this shouldn't really comes as a surprise ... is that Howie Roseman was trying to be creative about these negotiations with teams and saying 'Well, could we do sort of a split deal? Like, do half the deal now, and then finish the rest of the deal after June 1?' This way it's not as bad against the team's salary cap immediately, they can spread A.J. Brown's hit moving into the future. Teams were saying, 'No, you do trades all at one time. That's how it works.' But Roseman is trying to be creative, because this is a tough situation."  

From The Insiders on @nflnetwork, If they #Eagles don’t trade A.J. Brown in the near future — and right now the momentum seems to have stalled — it’s not for lack of discussion and attempted creativity to manage a huge salary cap hit. pic.twitter.com/rFPGzb52Uj

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 8, 2026

Presumably, the thought here would be that the acquiring team would give the Eagles draft-pick compensation that could be used in this April's draft, but wouldn't actually acquire Brown until after June 1. There would likely be a lot of red tape to jump through on a deal like this, but it's definitely an interesting concept. 

According to Over The Cap, if the Eagles trade Brown before June 1, it would leave them with approximately a $43.4 dead cap hit in 2026. That's not unheard of, but certainly isn't ideal if you're trying to compete for a Super Bowl. 

However, if the Eagles were to trade Brown after June 1, they would only have to take a $16.35 million dead cap hit in 2026, with the remainder of the $43.4 million spread out to 2027. The cap goes up every year, so teams are often willing to kick money into the future with the thought that it won't burn as much then as it would now. 

Of course, it's not surprising that an acquiring team wouldn't want to give up draft-pick compensation in the present but not have Brown actually join their organization until June 2. Roseman probably knows better, but one would wonder if the league would even allow a trade like this. 

So where does this leave the Eagles? 

They could obviously keep Brown, which a vocal portion of the fanbase seems to prefer anyway. It's just a matter of whether a change at offensive coordinator from Kevin Patullo to Sean Mannion is enough to get Brown back on track with quarterback Jalen Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni, among others. Or would Brown run to social media the first time things don't go his way in 2027? Do the Eagles believe Brown is still a special enough player that they want to manage his personality for another season? 

Alternatively, if the Eagles believe trading Brown is their best way to move forward but don't want to take a massive cap penalty in 2026, they could trade him after June 1. However, in that instance, any draft-pick compensation you get wouldn't be good until at least 2027. Also, as Garafolo noted, many potential Brown suitors will make other plans in the meantime if the Eagles go in that direction.