As defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles are holding firm on one key decision: AJ Brown isn’t going anywhere. Jalen Hurts will have his $96M star receiver by his side, with no trade planned. It’s a timely boost for an offense looking to stay sharp amid locker room tension.

ESPN’s NFL insider, Adam Schefter, claimed the Birds will not trade Brown before the November 4 deadline. He signed a three-year, $96 million extension through the 2029 season. It means that Hurts would have a proven performer in his lineup as the season moves ahead.

The Eagles are open to trade offers but won’t part with Brown for anything less than a huge offer. He’ll miss Sunday’s Week 8 game vs. the New York Giants but could return on November 10 against the Packers. Head coach Nick Sirianni is still keeping his options open.

“We’ll always do what’s best for the player and the team. AJ is one of the best in the league. He changes the way defenses play us,” the coach said.

It would cost the team nearly $90 million against the salary cap. So, trading AJ Brown doesn’t make sense for the Eagles financially. On the field, he’s too valuable to let go.

Off the field, his social media posts have become a frequent distraction, though Jalen Hurts and his teammates try to laugh it off, with DeVonta Smith saying he only checks them for the pictures.

The Athletic’s Diana Russini also said on the October 23 episode of The Rich Eisen Show that the team has made it clear that even if Brown wanted to leave, they would not trade him because keeping him is best for the Eagles.

Meanwhile, the dispute inside the Eagles locker room is raging on.

Discord grows between Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown amid Eagles’ resurgence

It started when Brown posted after the Week 7 win, “Using me but not using me.”

When asked, Hurts said he’s focused on the team as a unit rather than on any single player. The main issue now is Brown’s frustration. He was unhappy about not getting enough targets, which caused tension with quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The situation was even more surprising, considering Hurts is the godfather of Brown’s daughter.

Dianna Russini also revealed a private conversation with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Jeffrey and I actually talked about that, and he laughed, and he’s like, it’s not that we want to fight. We just need the intensity all the time for whatever reason. That is what works,” she recalled from their conversation.

Head coach Sirianni and GM Howie Roseman share the same view. They believe that intensity helps unite the players against rivals.

The HC-GM-owner trio admitted that things aren’t perfect in the locker room but said the roster is intentionally built for variety. Russini praised Lurie for being open about the issues and offered a quirky but realistic analogy.

“The Eagles are that couple that love to fight because they just like enjoy making up,” she added.

The Philadelphia Eagles, winners of Super Bowl LIX, started the season strong with four straight wins. But back-to-back losses in Weeks 5 and 6 stirred up some chaos. They bounced back with a Week 7 victory. Can they keep it going? We’ll see.