On paper, the Philadelphia Eagles should be pretty happy with their current position. They are still the reigning champions, and with a pair of matchups against the Washington Commanders and the Buffalo Bills being the only ones left on their schedule, they are perfectly poised to capture yet another 10+ win season and an NFC East banner.
Advertisement
Unfortunately, there’s been nothing but trouble in paradise for the birds this season, and the bulk of that drama has been between the team’s star quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and his number one receiving threat, A.J. Brown. The former Tennessee Titan has repeatedly voiced his frustrations with the offense, particularly the passing game, and has even teased that this could be his final season with the Eagles.
According to the NFL Hall of Famer, Cris Carter, Philadelphia should do whatever it can to assist Brown with his departure from the area. “Trade him,” Carter bluntly stated when asked what the Eagles should do with Brown this offseason.
“He’s met with the key players, he’s met with the head coach, he even met with the owner. You can’t have a player that, regardless of what you’re saying behind the scenes, he’s going to go to the press conference and say whatever he wants to say. It’s not good for the team. You can’t have that week after week after week.”
Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman has developed a reputation for being one of the savviest general managers in all of professional football, prompting Carter to have full confidence in his ability to “put together some package” that would see Brown join another team. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that both Brown and the Eagles will have to find a way to get along with one another the next few weeks.
The playoffs are steadily approaching, and it seems as if the Eagles are doing what they can to keep their star wideout happy for the time being. Brown saw a total of 11 targets throughout the first half of their Week 16 bout against the Commanders, and he managed to haul in eight of them for a total of 86 receiving yards.
That’s the kind of volume that he has been calling for all season long, so it’s unlikely that we’ll hear many complaints in the media this week. Of course, the real issues start when the targets stop, and while that profiles Brown as a ‘diva wide receiver,’ it also suggests that chemistry will be the Eagles’ biggest challenge come January.
There are reasons as to why winning back-to-back Super Bowls is an incredibly rare thing, and the human ego is one of them, so until the birds are able to get their flock in order, it’s beginning to look like Philadelphia is set up for a locker room implosion somewhere down the line here soon.
