Despite being the higher playoff seed, the Philadelphia Eagles still needed all hands on deck if they wanted to advance past the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Instead, key mistakes and a lack of urgency led to the Eagles falling 23-19 to the 49ers in the Wild Card contest, squashing the defending Super Bowl Champions' hopes of a repeat run.
Although several Eagles did their best to step up this weekend, including some unlikely contributors, some key names didn't, including A.J. Brown. The star receiver who's supposed to make a difference on the gridiron was doing his best Invisible Man impression against the 49ers, as Brown finished the elimination contest with only three catches and 25 yards on seven targets.
That's far from the type of performance the Eagles envisioned Brown having when he signed a three-year, $96 million extension in April 2024. However, it's the exact kind of showing that puts his future with the franchise in jeopardy.
AJ Brown May Have Played Himself Into an Eagles Exit
After three Pro Bowl-quality campaigns with the Eagles, Brown's 2025 season left much to be desired. While he did hit the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive campaign, his 12.9 yards per catch and 8.3 yards per target were both personal worsts. He also only averaged 64.5 yards per game while catching just 64.5% of passes sent his way after averaging 83.0 yards and a career-best 69.1% catch rate last year.
That's without mentioning how his off-field attitude was sometimes a distraction, especially when he couldn't get on the same page as offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, whose own future with the team is in jeopardy.
As the Eagles' supposed WR1, Brown needs to show up consistently, which was far from the reputation he garnered this season. Yes, he tallied five 100-yard games; however, he also had four games where he finished with fewer than 40 yards — five if you include Sunday's disappearing act. That just isn't the kind of player a team can rely on when the game is on the line.
In fact, that point was perfectly illustrated when Brown failed to haul in an easy catch late in the fourth quarter as the Eagles were driving, attempting to erase the four-point deficit. His performance looks even worse given that DeVonta Smith had no issues stepping up beneath the spotlight, turning 11 targets into eight catches for 70 receiving yards.
With Spotrac projecting the Eagles to only have about $22 million in offseason cap space and Smith looking like a legit WR1, the door could be open for Brown to leave in the coming months. Although the unpredictable wideout has four years remaining on his contract, Philadelphia can create $7 million in savings with a post-June 1 trade, resulting in $16.3 million and $27.1 million cap hits in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Is that a lot of dead money? For sure, but it could also be worth absorbing if the Eagles' concerns surrounding Brown only worsen. He still has $113 million in cash remaining on his deal, and no one would blame the front office if they'd rather spend that scratch elsewhere rather than continuing down this uncertain path with Brown.
At the end of the day, the three-time Pro Bowler helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl last season, and that's all fans can ask for. Sometimes partnerships aren't meant to last beyond a title run, and that seems to be the case for Philly and Brown, as a fresh start could do both sides a world of good.