The Philadelphia Eagles entered the offseason believed to be firmly in control of A.J. Brown’s future — a franchise cornerstone on a lucrative extension, yet also one of the NFL’s most-discussed trade chips as teams eye splashy upgrades ahead of the 2026 season.
That status quo shifted Tuesday when Brown’s appearance on the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast resurfaced old tensions and reignited speculation about which contender might try to pry him loose.
Speaking with former New England Patriots stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, Brown admitted that as a rookie under then-head coach Mike Vrabel, he sometimes wrote “I hate Vrabel” in his notebook just to look engaged during meetings — a reflection of how tough love initially rubbed him the wrong way.
“Vrabel is the type of coach who’s going to call on you in the meetings,” Brown said. “He’s going to make sure that you’re staying engaged, and he’s going to go over the keys to victory of the week, and you better know them like the back of your hand.
“When I say he holds every single player accountable from top to bottom, I don’t care who it is; that’s who he is. And it makes the team come together because nobody’s bigger than the team. Nobody’s bigger than the program. So, you have to respect it.”
Brown played under Vrabel early in his career with the Tennessee Titans before being traded to the Eagles in 2022, and he has long described that stretch as formative, even if it didn’t always feel that way at the time.
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Brown’s latest comments arrive on the heels of a relatively down season by his standards. He finished with 1,003 receiving yards, his lowest total since 2021, his final year in Tennessee, despite playing more games (15 compared to 13) and commanding 121 targets, the 16th-most in the NFL.
Adding fuel to the speculation, Brown has been at the center of trade rumors for months now, even with his massive $72.5 million dead-cap figure, and one of the teams most frequently connected to the three-time Pro Bowler has been the Patriots.
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A player of Brown’s caliber signaling respect, and even admiration, for Vrabel’s accountability-driven style naturally makes New England a cleaner schematic and cultural fit.
For Philadelphia, however, the calculus is delicate. Trading Brown could yield premium draft capital and roster flexibility, but it would also risk alienating a fan base and weakening an offense still trying to regain contender status after an uneven year.
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