Let's start with a case of 'where on earth did this even come from?'
There's apparently a subsection of Boston sports media that really wants to believe the Patriots are going to push after a trade for A.J. Brown.
A clip from the "Jones & Keefe" show on New England radio's WEEI that made the NFL social media rounds on Tuesday, featuring NBC Sports Boston's Patriots beat Tom Curran:
AJ Brown is the most likely target for the #Patriots, per @tomecurran:
"I love the fact that you're actually sensible enough to go back to AJ Brown instead of barking up the Tee Higgins, DK Metcalf pole–and Aiyuk….AJ Brown is a much more reasonable get."
(🎥: @JonesandKeefe) pic.twitter.com/lCnNwAy7BL— New England Sports Fellow (@NESportsFellow) March 4, 2025
And the transcript:
Rich Keefe: "You know, with all the different receiver names and Tee Higgins getting tagged and potential trade options, is the dream dead for A.J. Brown? I know he just won the Super Bowl, but he's the most connected to Mike Vrabel…"
Tom Curran: "I love that!"
Keefe: "I mean, I'm just, you know…"
Curran: "No, it's great!"
Keefe: "Could that happen?"
Curran: "I love A.J. Brown, and I love the fact that you actually were sensible enough to go back to A.J. Brown instead of barking up the Tee Higgins, DK Metcalf – and [Brandon Aiyuk] – who are just not gonna happen. A.J. Brown is a much more reasonable get…Why would the Eagles divorce themselves from him? I don't know exactly what the – but I think that's reasonable. I also think Davante Adams and Chris Godwin are very reasonable."
Nothing sensible about it. Nothing reasonable about it.
The Patriots are not getting A.J. Brown.
He is a Philadelphia Eagle, and will be for a long time as a fixture of that offense, and with a window for more Super Bowls very much open.
The Patriots are bad. Their fans and media know it, but it's been 20 years since they've ever had to reckon with that reality and can't deal.
Curran, who you can hear try to figure out a throughline for why the Eagles would part with Brown, only to immediately abandon it midthought – because there isn't one – went on to say that the Patriots need an option A, B, and C for adding a wide receiver this offseason, and that Godwin is A, Adams is B, and "if not, meanwhile, you're also making calls to Howie Roseman about 'what can we send you for A.J. Brown?'"
It's not hard to imagine Roseman laughing New England off the line.
Total nonsense.
Anyway, a few other Eagles odds and ends…
Barkley earned that
Word broke Tuesday that the Eagles reached a two-year, $41.2 million contract extension with Saquon Barkley to make him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
And you know what? He earned every bit of that.
Safe to say, 2K SA is here to stay.
We've agreed to terms with @saquon on a two-year contract extension.@Toyota | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/7FGKt2zLBh— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 4, 2025
He signed with the Eagles at a point when running backs were being heavily devalued as a position teams shouldn't invest heavily in, then proceeded to have the best season of any Eagles running back ever, the first 2,000-yard rushing season in several years, comfortably reached the rushing record across the regular season and the playoffs, and fell a rest week short of claiming Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record, too.
He was a highlight reel every single week, crowds were chanting "M-V-P!" for him as he took off into the open field – in opposing stadiums even – and had the Chiefs so scared in the Super Bowl that they built their entire defensive gameplan around stopping him at the cost of disregarded everything else – and oh man, did it cost them.
"Running back isn't important anymore," the preconceived notion believed, but then Barkley got to Philadelphia and flipped the whole thing on its head.
Turns out the position still very much is, and if you combine a star running back with a stout offensive line, you can move the ball at will against pretty much anybody.
The Eagles did just that all the way to a parade, and now Howie Roseman is rewarding the star and the final piece that put it all together accordingly, while other teams failed to figure out the same and will now be scrambling to catch up because, after all, the NFL is a copycat league.
But this past season, all the acclaim, the ring, and now the money, yeah, Barkely earned every last bit of that.
No hard feelings
Darius Slay is getting released by the Eagles.
He knew it was coming, and isn't torn up about it.
It's just the reality of the situation, and the business of the NFL.
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He was huge for the Eagles' defensive backfield this year on the way to the Super Bowl, but he is 34, and that backfield got a whole lot younger all of a sudden between Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and going back further, Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo.
Slay acknowledged all of that on his own podcast published Wednesday morning, and while he left the door open for maybe one more year in Philadelphia, he realizes they're both likely to move on.
"Nah, I'm not hurt about it," Slay said. "I'm not sad about it, because this is what I signed up for. I knew I gave that team everything I had, the organization everything I had. It's always a possibility, though, of your boy coming back. You know, it's not always throw it in the back, but this time, I'm just thankful enough that I could get ahead of free agency, if I could find me a good destination for myself.
"But hopefully, you know, we'll see how the Eagles do…They know I'd love to be back. They know that."
You can check out Slay's podcast HERE, or right below:
Raise the flag
From analyst Brian Baldinger: NFL Films has a tradition where they raise the flag of the Super Bowl champion outside of their office over in Mount Laurel.
The Eagles flag is up, for the second time in seven years, and will stay there until a new champion is crowned.
.@Eagles @NFLFilms the tradition continues #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/kDd73Gs7li
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) March 5, 2025
Another pinch for the dreamers that the Eagles did, in fact, win the Super Bowl – again.
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