As the Eagles reached the locker room after their humbling 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, one man was on a mission. While the freshly ousted team sat in silence, some reminiscing and some regretting, AJ Brown was already up and about. He walked up to each player, gave them hugs, and exited the building as if he couldn’t wait to get away. Except this time, this behavior won’t be called unprofessional, especially not by Jason Kelce, who had a similar advice for the wide receiver.

“I think AJ need go on a Darkness Retreat like Aaron Rodgers. AJ needs to step away. The frustration was palpable on the television screen, and I don’t think it is completely unwarranted.”

And Kelce’s not wrong. Contrary to what everyone believes, Brown’s frustrations weren’t just about his own diminished role. For a defending champion that returned with 10 of its 11 starters from last year’s Super Bowl and an All-Pro heavy roster, any criticism from the wide receiver seemed completely justified.

Coming into Sunday’s game vs San Francisco, the team averaged just 9.7 points in the second half of this season, down from 15.4 points last season, ranking 26th in the league. It also didn’t help that fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo turned out to be a costly mistake for Nick Sirianni.

Patullo failed to find his footing throughout the season. As opposed to the team never finishing worse than seventh in scoring and eighth in yards between 2022-24, this year saw them drop 19th in scoring and 24th in yards, Sirianni’s worst numbers as head coach. Even the running game struggled to take off, with quarterback Jalen Hurts finishing the year with just 421 rushing yards, his lowest total since his rookie season. The team’s rushing output also fell from 3,048 yards last year to 1,908 this year. No wonder Brown didn’t leave a chance to call out his team whenever he got a chance.

The flare-up reportedly began in Week 4, when the veteran player posted and quickly deleted a quote summing up his unhappiness on X: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” Then, in November last year, during a media availability session, he decided to go all out.

“It’s not just solely about my situation. Obviously, I want to win, too,” the player told reporters. “If we’re really focused on winning, we can’t just keep slapping a Band-Aid over the defense to get us out of trouble. We’re not doing our job on offense. You can’t keep slapping a Band-Aid over that and expect to win late in the year. It’s not going to (expletive) happen.”

Even during their latest loss, Brown and Sirianni were caught on camera screaming at each other on the sideline, an anger that Jason Kelce felt was completely justified.

“Receiver is a very frustrating position because there are so many things that need to go right for you to have success on the football field,” the former Eagles star said. “I hated playing receiver. I did it for one year, freshman football, and I was screaming at the quarterback. As a player, you have to try and overcome that and just keep your head down. But for how long can you do that? So I don’t know where AJ’s at.

I don’t believe that AJ has lost a step the way that I’ve seen some people say. I think when you’re frustrated and upset, it tends to make you play and look uncharacteristic of who AJ Brown is. I know it was a frustrating end of the season. I think he needs to get away from things. I think that whole team needs to kind of step away for a second and re-evaluate selfishly what they could have done better.”

Without any doubt, that’s a good solution. But will it really be beneficial for the Eagles amid AJ Brown’s seemingly limited days with the team?

Likely trade scenario for Eagles’ A.J. Brown

While many Eagles fans would prefer to see the team hire a new offensive coordinator to bridge this gap, the talk of a trade is no longer just “noise.” The debate has reached a point where both sides may eventually see a benefit in a fresh start. And there’s already a team posing as the best scenario to land him: New England Patriots.

Any trade involving Brown would be a financial earthquake. One that would be of $43.5 million as dead money magnitude, as he’s signed through 2029. That’s where the Patriots comes in the picture. Their current head coach, Mike Vrabel, used to be Brown’s former HC in Tennessee.

What’s interesting is that Vrabel disagreed with the Titans’ decision to trade the All-Pro receiver in 2022. Perhaps, he would likely jump at the chance to reunite with his former star. If it happens, Brown wouldn’t be entirely opposed.

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Last offseason, he playfully teased Eagles fans by posting a photo with a Patriots jersey. Of course, it was a prank then, but the fit for a team with a young QB like Drake Maye seems perfect. And above everything, the Patriots have cap space (potentially over $50 million) and draft capital to make a competitive offer for the star receiver.

Ultimately, it’s the Eagles holding the cards. Whether they choose to fix the relationship in-house or explore a blockbuster deal with New England. For now, the focus remains on the playoffs: Divisional Round clash against the Texans.