Eagles News: Saquon Barkley downplays A.J. Brown’s “trolling”

from on 2026-02-21 14:30 (#73QV7)

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 9: A.J. Brown #11 and Saquon Barkley #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate during the second quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on October 9, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

How did you feel about A.J. Brown's trolling" on the podcast with two former Patriots players? Head over to The Feed and weigh in with your answer and explanation!

Let's get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links ...

What Saquon Barkley thinks of AJ Brown's wink hinting at Patriots move - Yahoo! Sports
The viral moment occurred during a podcast appearance where Brown responded with a wink after hosts suggested he could join the Patriots. Social media users quickly connected the gesture to ongoing speculation linking him to New England, especially given his previous working relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during their time together in Tennessee. Barkley, however, downplayed the seriousness of the gesture, saying, That wink is just all fun and games, but I will give the inside scoop: AJ Brown is a big Patriots fan. No [Eagles fans shouldn't panic], I don't think so."

A.J. Brown trade rumors: Should Patriots pursue Eagles wide receiver? - Pats Pulpit
A.J. Brown to the Patriots is an interesting thought experiment because of the potential implications a trade would have on a team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2025. Because, make no mistake, he would be the team's No. 1 wide receiver if brought aboard and instantly become its most dangerous downfield weapon. However, he also would not come cheap and likely disqualify the Patriots from pursuing other candidates such as the potential first-round rookies mentioned above or another popular trade target, Raiders edge Maxx Crosby. That trade-off might be worth it, but there are no right or wrong answers until the Patriots' actual performance on the field in 2026 with or without any of those players mentioned. As for Brown himself, he likely would welcome a change of scenery and getting traded to New England. Whether the Eagles see it the same way remains to be seen and could be the ultimate hold-up. From a Patriots perspective, though, one thing is true either way: a talent such as Brown would add more quality to an offense still in need of it despite some promising signs in 2025.

Eagles' A.J. Brown Trolls Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman on Video Over Patriots Trade Rumors - B/R
During an appearance on the Dudes on Dudes podcast (38:20 mark) alongside Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, A.J. Brown winked when Edelman declared, We're all Patriots." The room erupted with laughter, and Brown ultimately made it clear that he was trolling." But there could be some truth behind Brown's subtle response.

A.J. Brown used to hate' Mike Vrabel during time together in Tennessee - NFL.com
Vrabe is the type of coach that he's going to call on you in the meetings," Brown said. He wants to make sure you're staying engaged and he's going to go over the keys to victory of the week. You better know them by the back of your hand. I used to write in my notebook because at the time, I really didn't like Vrabes. I didn't like him, and I admit that he knows that. So, I used to write, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes.' I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged. But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie and I really didn't understand it. So, at the time I told Vrabes like, Hey, like I'm humble already. You don't got to humble me.' But I really didn't understand what he was trying to, you know, push me to be.

Looking at the Costs of Cutting or Trading Eagles WR AJ Brown - Over The Cap
Can the Eagles Trade Brown? Trading Brown would be a viable option for the Eagles if they could find a trade partner. The Eagles structure all of their contracts these days with built in" contract restructures and Brown's is no different. What the team does is include an option bonus that covers all of the salary for a player in a year except for the minimum that is mandated by the CBA along with any other minor bonuses in the contract. This effectively accomplishes the same thing a restructure does by converting salary to bonus except it maintains a trade window for the Eagles. This is why Brown's salary cap charge for 2026 is $23.393 million rather than $45.35 million. The Eagles make the dates to exercise these options very late in the preseason, basically right before the first regular season game, thus giving them all summer to trade the player and not pay the salary required to lower the salary cap charge. In a normal restructure the Eagles would be on the hook for all but his $1.3 million base salary in a trade since the restructure bonus would have been committed by the Eagles.

Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will speak at the NFL Combine on Tuesday - BGN
For the first time since their post-mortem press conference following the Philadelphia Eagles' season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers back in January, we'll hear from Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni this week.

Some under-the-radar free agents the Eagles should keep - PhillyVoice
G/C Brett Toth. Yes, you're reading this correctly. Toth has been a punching bag for fans because his crime is that he's not nearly as good as four other Pro Bowler or All Pros on the starting offensive line, or even starting RG Tyler Steen. But Toth showed in his second start last season - first at center - in a win against the Giants that he can be a serviceable backup when used properly. The new offense should emphasize outside zone and more horizontal movement along with screens, both of which cater to Toth's athleticism and quickness. The asks of Toth to single block - or even double team - on mammoth iDLs at the point of attack on inside runs didn't play to his strengths. [...] Interestingly, Toth was seen as a teacher's pet for former OL coach Jeff Stoutland, but Toth could theoretically be a better fit for Sean Mannion's scheme than Stoutland's inside zone-heavy playbook. There won't be a big market for Toth. There could be none at all. Given the injury issues the Eagles have up front, they'd be wise to at least give Toth another chance to win a backup job.

Christian Parker introduction was early insight into where Cowboys will be focusing defensive rebuild - Blogging The Boys
Wednesday's introduction for Parker was a good step here, as he and Schottenheimer came off as being on the same page for how they build a winning infrastructure around their respective sides of the ball. Where Schottenheimer will have the benefit of continuity from the majority of coaches he's trusted to run their own position rooms along with a core of steady playmakers on offense, Parker faces the challenge of being a first-time coordinator in charge of both players and a slew of new coaches for the first time. All for a defense that still desperately needs more of these cornerstone playmakers to build around. The Cowboys defense has needs everywhere, and anybody that watched either one game or all of this team's games in 2025 with Matt Eberflus' defense already knows this well. So far in this offseason process, Cowboys fans have been quite split on where the ideal starting point is to improve the personnel for Parker's defense - particularly in regards to Dallas holding two first-round picks in April's draft.

Cowboys waive LB Logan Wilson, save $6.5M in salary cap space - ESPN
The Cowboys gave up a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Wilson. In Cincinnati, where he was voted a captain in 2025, Wilson was benched in favor of rookie Barrett Carter and led to the trade.

Three free agent wide receivers the Washington Commanders could target in 2026 - Hogs Haven
Romeo Doubs, 25, Packers. Doubs is another wide receiver coming off a career year. In 2025, with Jayden Reed and Christian Watson on the shelf, Doubs established himself as one of Jordan Love's preferred targets with 55 receptions for 724 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per catch over 16 games. Romeo has generally improved as a receiver each season and hit career highs in 2025 for yards per route run (73rd percentile) and yards per reception (65th percentile). Doubs possesses good size and speed, and while he was very raw as a rookie, he has become a polished route runner that can win on all three levels. Along with his strengths, Doubs has a few weaknesses. At times, he vanishes from games and has also struggled with the drops during his career. Romeo ranks in the 32nd percentile in drop rate when compared to the rest of the league. He also has a somewhat extensive injury history including two concussions in 2024. Doubs' other weakness comes with the ball in his hands as he is not a playmaker after the catch, ranking in the lower third in yards after catch per reception. Still, Romeo can be clutch when needed, especially in short areas of the field. He is now up to 23 career touchdowns, ranking in the 71st percentile for touchdowns per target.

New York Giants mailbag: John Harbaugh, retirement plans, Carnell Tate, more - Big Blue View
Steve, there might be a hit piece" element to some of what has been written. There is, though, truth in the idea that Joe Schoen has lost power since the hiring of John Harbaugh. Before Harbaugh was hired, Schoen was at the top of the organizational chart directly under ownership when it came to football decisions. He had final say. That is clearly no longer the case. The most powerful man in the Giants' organization now outside of ownership is John Harbaugh. If Harbaugh wants to draft Caleb Downs and Schoen doesn't, the Giants will draft Downs. If Harbaugh wants Tyler Linderbaum in free agency and Schoen doesn't, the Giants will try to sign Linderbaum. Harbaugh will be the final arbiter on who makes the 53-man roster. If there are people Harbaugh wants removed from the organization, they are going to get removed. It is his show. Dawn Aponte has basically the same title that Kevin Abrams had, and the same list of responsibilities. Clearly, though, the fact that she reports to Harbaugh and not to the GM adds weight to that role and takes power away from the GM. They can make cap and contract decisions without Schoen's input. It is pretty clear that Harbaugh wanted his own person in the front office to handle contracts and manage the salary cap. Aponte will do that, meaning Schoen no longer has authority over those things. Aponte will also likely be Harbaugh's front office eyes and ears. Schoen is no longer driving the bus.

The Bears moving to Indiana would be a soulless betrayal of a city that loves them - SB Nation
A few months before I was born, the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl. In doing so, they put a cherry atop their most exciting, storied season ever. It was such a big deal that in my toddler years, a Richard Dent action figure was just one piece of the ubiquitous 86 Bears mythology in my household-a totem object for the beginning of my life-and one of my very first news memories is of what the Chicago Tribune looked like on the day, years later, that head coach Mike Ditka was fired. Millions of Chicagolanders my age can tell similar stories; those of living through a fandom most defined by stuff that happened before you were alive, occasionally punctuated by haphazardly successful Bears teams that usually relied on turnover creation for average offensive production. We got a Super Bowl run in 2007, and while that was fun, it was exactly this kind of ramshackle, wild-card outfit that took us there.

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