what's going on everybody and good morning today is Monday March 2nd and this is your daily go birds morning update giving you all the Eagles news you need to know as well as what to keep an eye out for today and it's already March it's crazy it's already March uh the combine officially over feels like just yesterday the Eagles season was ending and now we're already past the combine. We're past the Super Bowl. And this is going to be a huge week for the Eagles. If you remember, the Eagles signed Zach Bond out of the combine last year. They had all the information. Bond's camp had all the information. And it ended up being the big signing that they made. And they got it done the week after. Now that all the GMs, all the head coaches, all the agents, all the decision makers are back home. They're not all in Indy. They can all regroup. They can have staff meetings and talk about, OK, here's what we found out. Here is what the offers are going to be. Here's a team that are going to be interested. This will be the week in a way where free agency kind of kicks off because the Eagles are going to decide, all right, here's probably what Jalen Phillips is going to be worth, who we'll talk about in a second. Here's probably the offers we're going to get for A.J. Brown, who we will also talk about, obviously, because it wouldn't be a pod without talking about A.J. Brown. And agents and teams will start to make decisions. So this week will be a week where I think we're going to get a lot of Eagles news for better or worse depending on what you want. If you want AJ traded, if you don't want AJ traded, if you want N'Kobe back, if you don't, I think this week is when we are going to start to get a lot of that information. So obviously I can't wait. You know I love when there's Eagles news. So let's get into it so you can get on with your Monday and it's going to be nice weather this week too. So hopefully it's a good week for everybody. Lots of news over the weekend, but mostly concerning two players, Jalen Phillips and A.J. Brown Let's start with Jalen Phillips because we always start with A.J. Brown And, you know, there was some reporting over the weekend from Jeremy Fowler, VSPN That, to be honest, I've been telling you But I think Jeremy Fowler is a great reporter And it's noteworthy when he says it That the Eagles are going to try to re-sign Jalen Phillips And that's a sense I've gotten all offseason I think they want to get it done I think this week will be huge for that because of the reasons I just said. Jalen Phillips' agent will have met with teams. He will know what the offers are going to be. He'll have a rough idea of what the money is, what options there's going to be. And now he can sit with Jalen Phillips and say, okay, here's what we're thinking. And then they can talk to the Eagles and all those things can happen. But I do think Jalen Phillips is going to end up back on the Eagles. I think they will pay what it takes to get him. And I think they want him back. They gave up that third. Vic Fangio loves him. I think they love him in the building as like a culture fit. he's a very good player good against the run good pass rusher sack numbers aren't huge didn't have like a massive impact from a sack perspective I thought he played good football for the Eagles and then you have him Jalex Hunt and Nolan Smith as your main three edges giving Jalen Phillips big money does impact Nolan Smith and we'll we'll talk about that if and when the moment comes but at the very least you have the three of them on your roster once you sign Jalen Phillips so I think it makes a lot of sense the question will be like does he want to be back here if i'm jalen phillips he could have loved his time in philly i talked to him about it you know i think he did love it like he loved the culture he loved the fact that he was you know competing for something obviously ended up winning a playoff game but there was a sense that he was competing for something uh seems like a big foodie seems like he liked the food in the city but if you're jalen phillips you only spent like seven weeks there or whatever it was like this is your opportunity to go out and get probably your last life-changing contract. I mean, I guess in three years when he gets another $20 million, obviously that's life-changing money too. But this will probably be the height of his money-making ability. He's 26. Now he turns 27 in May, so it's his year 27 season. But he's a top five free agent. He's a critical position. He will probably want to go where the most money is. So it'll be a matter of the teams, right? Like if it's an even offer between the Eagles and the, I don't know, Jets, right? He'll probably pick the Eagles. A, because the Jets are going to suck. The stadium sucks, like all those things. But if one team's offering considerably more money, he should take that and he should make most of the money. So what will a Jalen Phillips contract look like? Now, it's tough to tell. He's an interesting guy to try to piece the contract together for. He puts up really good advanced rushing stats, doesn't have a lot of sacks, has suffered through injuries, played in every game last year. So there's a little bit of a hit and miss with him, right? For every positive, there's kind of a negative that attaches it to it. But you can rationalize every negative with a positive as well. So you look at what he could potentially make. First of all, just comparing him to other edge rushers, there is a clear difference between what the elite guys make in that next tier. Micah Parsons, TJ Watt, Miles Garrett, Bosa, Crosby, Hutchinson, they're all over $55 million guaranteed in their deal. Some of them considerably over that. and they all average over $34 million a year. So I do not think he will touch $34 million average. And then the guarantee he might hit, but he's not going to be top five in guarantees. I don't think, at least not real guarantees. I just don't think he'll touch the money like Parsons, Garrett, Crosby, Hutchinson that those guys got. I don't think he'll get there. So some comparable numbers for him. Daniel Hunter got $48 million at 30. So he was 30 years old. So he was older by quite a bit. Three years, he got $48 million. Montez Sweat got $41 million at $27 million. And Greg Rousseau got $37 million at $24 million. So Greg Rousseau way younger. Montez Sweat, similar age. Daniel Hunter older Or Daniel Hunter sorry So I would guess because Jalen Phillips is a free agent He going going to get paid obviously like more than other guys will Like I think he get more than Hunter Sweat and Russo I would guess he'll be somewhere around 50 million guaranteed. And I think his average will come in at around 25 ish, 25, $30 million average. And I think the Eagles will do that. If you give him 55 million guaranteed and you kind of get that for two years, right? three years. Now, obviously, there'll be base salary and option bonus and that stuff. But if you can get, you know, $25, $30 million average for two or three years, I think that's a good deal for him. Now, it's risky, again, because he does have health concerns and he's not had a lot of sacks. But I think you got to give to get. They're really thin at edge right now. You could draft an edge, but that's not any guarantee. And you have other positions you need to prioritize. So I think the money will be big, but I think you can just see there's a clear discrepancy in what the elite, elite elite guys get paid and then just what the next group get it gets and I think Jalen Phillips is definitely in that other group so I think the money will work itself out I think both sides will decide they're better off with each other and I think Jalen Phillips will be back with the Eagles and I think we'll probably get you know news on that this week all right the other news that came out over the weekend was the Patriots side of everything right so last week we spent a lot of time talking about what the Eagles were saying about AJ Brown. And you could probably repeat Howie's answer on AJ Brown by heart now. You've probably heard it so many times, right? Like we love AJ. We're not in the business of giving away good players. You don't get better by subtracting, right? But we'll listen to anything. It's my job to listen to everything. I'm not doing my job for the team if I don't listen to everything. So Howie's message was clear last week. We're not trading AJ for nothing, but I'm down to listen, right? Like that was the message. Well, now we're getting the Patriots side of it via both ESPN, but also the local media, right? So the local media now in Boston, I guess you would say New England. I don't know how you would really do that. But Boston, the local media in Boston is getting their side, the Patriots side of the negotiation. And that's really what has started to happen over the weekend. They are negotiating in public. Last week, the Eagles made the first move. Mike Vrabel said what he said about AJ, about what a great guy he is, how proud he is of him. He told reporters then off the podium that the Patriots will explore everything. But now we're getting the source part of it. So the Boston Herald reported this, quote, The Patriots have explored trade talks involving Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown, but feel the current asking price is unserious, according to one source. Several league sources believe Brown could nonetheless be dealt and the return could be a step above what the Seahawks received when they traded DK Metcalf in a six-round pick to Pittsburgh last year for a second rounder in a seventh round pick. Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Elliott Wolfe said this week that the team would be willing to trade their first round pick in the right situation, end quote. First of all, shout out Elliott Wolfe spells his name exactly like I spell mine, E-L-I-O-T. But regardless, this, you can see there, the Patriots are making it clear. It is unserious what the Eagles are asking for. MassLive, another local outlet there in Boston, wrote a similar thing. Quote, there's internal interest in trading A.J. Brown, and it's not just dependent. Oh, sorry. Let me restart. Quote, there's internal interest in trading for A.J. Brown, and it's not just dependent on Stephon Diggs. According to our sources, there's a scenario where the Patriots could have both receivers on the roster. In the event Diggs is willing to restructure his contract, the team sees an avenue to pair him with Brown. The receiver hasn't been happy in Philadelphia and is a fan of Rabel. The relationship goes both ways. Now, there are concerns, however, about Brown's knees. He had surgery on both knees in 2021 and sustained another knee injury during the 2023 season. But even with those issues, the veteran has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past four seasons, end quote. So there, what you're hearing is the Patriots are already figuring out how this works financially, how they can keep Diggs, how they can fit Brown in and what that's going to look like. So we know that they're interested, right? They're both saying that. We know that they're looking into how he fits in the cap. They're trying to figure that out with Stephon Diggs. And we also know they think the Eagles' current asking price, which means they've got an asking price from them, right, is unserious and they think it's too much. But that's the negotiation. The Eagles set the bar high. The Patriots then say, yeah, that's unserious. They make the Eagles try to worry like if they want to trade Asia, that they're going to lose that trade partner. And that's the dance back and forth. Now, ESPN's Dan Graziano also had some maybe larger perspective on where things stand with AJ, writing, quote, teams have contacted the Eagles about a potential Brown trade, but word is that Philly's asking price remains too high. This lines up with what I heard about the Eagles stance. They'd be open to the right offer, but it would have to be a really good one. They don't just want to get rid of Brown or need him off the team for any chemistry reasons. The Eagles will always listen to trade offers, but if they're going to move Brown, it sounds like they'd have to be blown away. If you're not ready to talk about at least your first round pick, I don't think that conversation is getting very far at the moment." So again, the Eagles side, it's going to take at least a first round pick. The Patriots side, it's unserious. They're asking for way too much. The question will be and to use a famous tweet from a very smart football man local guy Andrew Brandt deadline spur action and the first deadline is coming up as the new league year begins not not uh not next two Wednesdays from now not not getting into the this and that thing right two Wednesdays from now the new league year begins and that will be the first deadline where it'll be are they going to do this right are the Eagles going to enter free agency with Brown on the books or if they if they are then that impacts what they're going to do are the Patriots going to give in and trade for Brown or enter for agency without a receiver and then look and see what they could do there Mike Evans Romeo Dobbs that type of thing So I think we pretty clear where things are The Eagles are asking for a first round pick, maybe plus. The Patriots view the asking price as unserious. And now they wait each other out. They negotiate. They see who blinks first, who's more desperate. I do think the Patriots are more desperate, but I also think the Eagles, while I believe they could bring AJ back and it would be okay. I also think that if you enter the offseason expecting to trade him, and I'm not saying they're fully expecting to, but I think they expect a good enough offer to do it, then you also have to pivot if you don't. You're giving him that $30 million in cash that you could use otherwise. You're not receiving that pick you thought maybe you were going to receive. The other homework you've done becomes different on receivers having AJ on the team. So I think there is enough here where it will happen. They're talking. They're talking asking price. The Patriots are figuring out the next steps. They just got to come to an agreement. And I think they will. I think Howie Roseman and Elliott Wolfe have a good relationship. It makes sense to put AJ in the AFC. This is your last chance to really cash in on AJ. The Brown, the not the Browns, not the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots need AJ Brown coming off a season where they made the Super Bowl. But obviously, you know, you add that stud receiver, where you get more excitement going into the season. I mean, honestly, similar to the Eagles adding T.O. in 0-4. So that's kind of where things seem to stand, and I think things will happen soon. I think this week, early next week, we'll know. We'll know what's going to happen with A.J. Brown. Now, to what the Eagles asking Price is, is it fair? Is it too much? Well, I went and looked at 16 noteworthy wide receiver trades over the past 10 years to see what players of A.J.'s caliber go for, what age matters right when it comes to this uh and is a first round pick fair or is it more of a second round pick so we will get into that on the other side but first a word from our sponsors hey this is richard deitch the host of the sports media podcast if you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports the sports media podcast has you covered i've been turning down interviews all week hoda copy reached out oprah george stefanopoulos So I said, no, I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. OK, so let's look at the history of receivers that have been traded, how they compare to AJ and what the Eagles can realistically ask for in a trade. And I say the word what they can realistically ask for, but also they can ask for whatever they want. Like if they truly don't care about trading AJ and they truly believe AJ would be OK coming back, then they don't have to budge at all. Like if they are fine with keeping AJ on the team, they can ask for whatever they want. Right. It's like if you have something that you're willing to keep, you don't have to negotiate on the sale price. Right. Like I have stuff like I actually can't think of really anything valuable. I own that would make a good example. But regard, all right, let's say our car, right? Me and Kristen's car. Like, yeah, there's a number we'd sell it for, but we're not looking to sell it. So ultimately, it does not matter what someone offers because we can decide what we want. So I think from an Eagles perspective, that's the key question. How much do they really want to trade AJ? And I don't have a great answer on that. Like, I believe that Nick Sirianni and the players would be happy with him coming back. The question is, how much does the front office view this as an opportunity to cash in? Because this is their last chance. Like, do they want to trade AJ for a high pick, save money, and kind of retool now? Or do they want to go a year, give Sean Mannion the number one receiver, and figure it out then? Like, only Howie and Jeffrey Leary, I think, truly know the answer to that. And I don't think the public does. So they can ask for whatever they want. But in a world where they're actually going to trade AJ, then they have to somewhat base those expectations, what they give back, off of what has happened in the past. It's much like free agency, right? Players come up with what they want with a contract based off of what other players at similar skill level, similar age, have done, what they've gotten in free agency. So if you look over the past 10 years, since 2016, there have been 16 noteworthy wide receiver trades in the past 10 years, right? Of those 16, eight included a first round pick, and then eight were for a second or a third pick, some for both, right? So let's look at each example and say whether or not like AJ, the Eagles could ask for more in that instance and how things would matter. So just to start, AJ Brown, like we, no reason to talk about how good he is. All of us know, all of us listening know he can be great, know he didn't have a great year, know that, like we all know all the intricacies of AJ. But it is worth noting that he's 28 and will be 29 next year. And you could say, well, the age doesn't matter a ton because he's elite, but the age super matters when you are acquiring a player and paying him, right? And the Patriots will likely pay AJ when they get him, like a new deal, I mean. And they have to take into account how long they'll have him, right? Like if you're trading a first round pick and he's 24, that's much different than trading a first round pick for a 29 year old. So the age is super important. All right, let's look at the trades where a first round pick was involved. In 2022, Tyreek Hill went from Kansas City to Miami for a first, a second, two fourths and a sixth. An absurd haul for the Chiefs and the Dolphins. It really didn't end up mattering. They didn't do anything in Miami and the Chiefs were fine without it. But what's noteworthy is the Dolphins gave Tyreek Hill a four year, $128 million deal, 72 million guaranteed. He played his first season with the Dolphins was his year 28 season. So similar to AJ a year younger but similar to AJ was coming off a worse 2021 than 2020 So much like AJ Tyreek Hill wasn coming off of a stellar season but he a year younger So would the would the uh like is this comparable I think there no shot. They're getting a first, a second, two, four, and a six for, uh, for AJ. And I think that's because Tyreek Hill, a like, I think better receiver at that point. Um, but also like he is younger and he doesn't have, well, now he does, but at the time he didn't have the injury concerns that A.J. Brown does. So Tyreek Hill, younger. In 2022, we know A.J. went from Tennessee to Philly for a first and a third. I was not going to talk a ton about that. 2022, Devontae Adams goes from the Packers to the Raiders for a first and a second. Adams played his year 30 season with the Raiders. So this is a good one for the Eagles. The Eagles can look at this and go, well, Devontae Adams went for a first and a second and he was older. That helps Eagles negotiation. In 2020, Stefan Diggs went from the Vikings to the Bills for a first, fourth, fifth, and sixth. He would play his year 27 season with the Bills, so he was a year younger. In 2019, Odell Beckham Jr. went from the Giants to the Browns for a first and a third. He was also a year younger. He played his year 27 season with the Browns. So actually, that'd be two years younger, my bad, because AJ will play his year 29 season. So Stefan Diggs and Odell Beckham were two years younger than AJ was. both went for a first. 2018, Amari Cooper at the deadline goes from the Raiders to the Cowboys for a first. He was five years younger. He was only 24. And then Brandon Cooks has actually twice been involved in a trade involving a first round pick. First, he went from the Saints to the Patriots for a first and a third. He was five years younger when that happened. And then the next year, he went from the Patriots to the Rams for a first. Obviously, a year older there was 25, was four years younger. So you look and like Brandon Cooks, when he was involved, four or five years younger. Amari Cooper, five years younger. Stephon Diggs and Odell Beckham, two years younger. Tyreek Hill, a year younger. And then Devontae Adams was older. But the majority of the trades, so in fact, there's been eight of them if you include the AJ trade from the Titans to the Eagles. Seven of them were younger than AJ. Obviously, AJ being younger than himself back in his current state in 2022. The only good one here is the Devontae Adams one. That's the one the Eagles can hang to. But for the most part, the receivers that get traded for a first round pick are not AJ's age. So the Patriots can definitely sit there and go, this is an unprecedented ask, especially if it's a first and a second. Really only Devontae Adams counts. But outside of that, like Odell Beckham was younger. Stephon Diggs was younger. Tyreek Hill was younger. Brandon Cooks was younger. Like they were all way younger. So that's noteworthy to me that of the receivers that have been traded over the past 10 years, There's only one that was older than AJ that netted a first round pick back. So then you go to the other trades that didn't include a first round pick, whether it was a second or a third, whatever it was. We know last year, George Pickens went from Dallas to Pittsburgh for a 2025 third. He was five years younger than AJ. He played his year 24 season with Dallas. DK Metcalf from the Steelers or from Seattle to the Steelers for a second round pick. He played his age 28 season with Pittsburgh. He was a year younger. um, Stefan Diggs involved in a lot of these trades went from Buffalo to Houston for a second. He was two years older when that happened. Calvin Ridley. Remember the Eagles were in on him. Same age as AJ. He went for a third and a fifth. He had came off a year of, uh, with the suspension for gambling. So he gets a third and a fifth, same age as AJ Chase Claypool. I included him. Obviously AJ is way better than Chase Claypool, but a Chase Claypool got a second round pick when he went from the Steelers to the Bears. He's five years younger. Julio Jones got a second and a fourth when he was 32, which was crazy of the Titans to do. He was three years older than AJ. And then DeAndre Hopkins, a year younger when he goes from the Texans to the Cardinals for a second. And Mohamed Sanu, throwback name there, from the Falcons to the Patriots for a second, he was a year older. So of the eight noteworthy trades that involved either a second or a third, four were younger and then four were either the same age or older so you can really look at this and go a fair ask like a fair trade is a second round pick I think the Eagles can look at this and go okay a second that could become a first a second and a third a second and two fourths like something like that but I think a first straight up that would be the Patriots blink and the Eagles get more than a fair asking price I think AJ is awesome all those things but just the history doesn't show that they should be getting a first round pick. He is older than most players that went for a first round pick at his position. He does have the knee problems, as we talked about in the first segment there. There's concerns about his knee health. And the Eagles don't have to trade him. So I think, you know, Howie talks a lot about making trades that are fair for both sides. I think a two that can become a one would be the best you could hope for if the Patriots truly dig their heels in. And I think like a fair trade for AJ is a second and then multiple other picks. A second and two fours, a second, a four and a five, a second and maybe like a third in next year's draft, something like that. I think you could try to recoup some value of not getting a first round pick with additional picks. And like we talked about on the last pod, you could ask for players, right? You could ask for the Patriots to give back one of their other receivers, whether that's Booty, whoever it is. You could go and you could get someone like that. But I think when they negotiate, a second round pick is truly what's fair for A.J. Brown. All right. That'll do it for today's daily podcast. Go out, enjoy your day. Going to be a fun week, maybe some emergency pods. Who knows? But until then, he's Elliot. I'm James. Talk to you guys later. you
