Eagles Move On From A.J. Brown, With DeVonta Smith Stepping Into Spotlight

Well, that didn't take long. The Eagles have already moved on from A.J. Brown, based on comments from some players following Tuesday's OTA practice.

"I think yes, we can move on," said left tackle Jordan Mailata. "I think most of us who have been here the last six weeks, we have moved on, just from (the fact) that we have enough to worry about.

"Again, getting over last year, then coming in here and learning a new scheme and new concepts. We had to press on. And that's what we were doing. I think this is more of – it sounds terrible – but thank God it's over. It was the slow pain of, is he in? Is he out? We didn't really know."

Now, they know after Monday's trade of Brown to the New England Patriots gave the receiver exactly what he wanted – a ticket out of town.

"Obviously, anytime you lose a great player like him it hurts," said DB Cooper DeJean. "And he's a great friend of mine, he's a great teammate in our locker room, but the business side of this thing … so, everybody did what was best for them.

"…I don't think it really bothered us in the locker room at all. Obviously, he's a great player and that stuff is out of my control. I don't really deal with it, but obviously, it sucks to lose a great player like him, and now we're moving on to this season."

Already out of New England, there was a clip showing Brown, wearing uniform No. 1, catching a pass from Drake Maye during the Patriots' OTA. So, he has moved on, too. Life moves fast in the NFL, so it's adapt or get left behind.

DeVonta Smith Steps In At No. 1

For the Eagles, they will adapt with DeVonta Smith taking over Brown's No. 1 receiver designation, though Smith doesn't view it that way.

"I'm just going out there to do my job," said Smith, regardless of however you wanna look at it – 1, 2, 3, 4 - however you wanna look at it. Then we all have jobs we have to go out there and do. … I'm gonna do the same thing I've been doing."

Entering his sixth season, Smith has done enough to inspire confidence that he can rise to the challenge of being the No. 1. After breaking DeSean Jackson's rookie record for most yards receiving in his first year, with 916, Smith is coming off his second 1,000-yard season, collecting a team-high 1,008 last year. Overall, he has 5,019 yards with 31 touchdowns.

"We're very early on building our team for 2026," said general manager Howie Roseman, "(but) I have a lot of confidence in DeVonta Smith, always have. I think he's just a really, really good player, and excited for him to continue to improve and shine as a player. I have a lot of confidence in that."

Roseman went on to say that it won't be Smith alone who has to replace Brown. It will have to be a collection of the players he added to that room in the offseason, as well as perhaps holdovers such as Johnny Wilson and/or Darius Cooper.

"We'll have competition throughout that position like every other position," said Roseman, "but there's no doubt that A.J. Brown was a huge, huge part of our football team, a great player for us, and that loss will have to be picked up by more than just one player."

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as Eagles Move On From A.J. Brown, With DeVonta Smith Stepping Into Spotlight.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM.