PHILADELPHIA — Rejoice that A.J. Brown was an Eagle. Be glad that he spent four years as the best receiver the franchise has known.

Rejoice, now, that he’s gone.

No more distractions. No more favoritism.

No more veiled accusations that Jalen Hurts lacks the arm strength, the courage and the football IQ to maximize a talent like A.J. Brown’s.

No more insubordinate accusations on social media that the Eagles’ offense, led by a callow coordinator, is a “[expletive] show.”

Brown had bemoaned his fate after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and he’d held press availabilities complaining about the passing game after wins, but this last, vulgar expectoration in mid-November brought owner Jeffrey Lurie down from his office that overlooks the practice field to have words with Brown in full sight of the players, coaches and media.

It was diva behavior worthy of Mariah Carey.

From that point, the question was not if Brown would be traded, but when.

That answer came as soon as possible. Within an hour of the 4 p.m. June 1 window opening to allow teams to spread salary-cap hits over two seasons, Brown was gone, to New England, for a first-round pick in 2028 and a fifth-round pick in 2027.

Sounds good, perhaps, and first-round picks a year removed have value, but far less value than first-round picks in the coming year. They are infinitely less valuable than first-round picks in the current year, and that’s what the Eagles wanted all along.

Like the rest of the league, the Patriots laughed at that demand. A first-round pick for a diminishing receiver with a failing knee who openly rebukes authority and disrespects teammates and coaches?

Ha.

Brown would have counted $43.3 million against the 2026 salary cap had he been traded before Monday. Now, the cap hit is a more manageable $16.3 million this season (with $7 million in cap savings) and $27.1 million in 2027.

That said, Brown owes the Birds nothing.

Arrival

After a win over the visiting Cowboys, Brown had 33 catches for 503 yards for the 6-0 Eagles in his first season in Philly when he really arrived: six catches, 156 yards, and a career-high three touchdowns against the Steelers. The first of the three was a 39-yarder thrown into double coverage.

And, we were off.

The most audacious deal in Eagles history was paying off better than anyone imagined. During the first round of the 2022 draft, Howie Roseman traded first- and third-round picks for a receiver who would be 25 years old, had a degenerative knee issue, and was down 200 yards from his 2021 total in receiving yards. Roseman then immediately signed Brown to a four-year, $100 million extension.

But, six games in, Brown was not tracking like a $100 million receiver who cost the Birds two draft picks. And then, suddenly, he was.

Brown broke the franchise record with 1,496 receiving yards and earned a Pro Bowl spot, second-team All-Pro designation, and led the Eagles to their fourth Super Bowl berth.

It got better.

Well, it got better for the Eagles, anyway.

Brown followed in 2023 with a 106-catch season, a team record for wideouts, and 1,456 yards, which would have broken the franchise record had he not done so the year before.

But this is where the issues began.

Descent

Brown and Hurts went rogue on the final play of a Week 15 loss at Seattle. This was a common occurrence that left teammates feeling like Hurts and Brown got special treatment: “It doesn’t help when they treat guys two different ways,” a veteran told me.

Another veteran said Brown’s body language set a bad example for younger players.

Brown then engaged in a two-week media boycott, behavior that became tiresomely common as his time in Philadelphia continued.

By the end of 2024, Super Bowl title in hand, Brown was clearly more interested in his Hall of Fame candidacy than in his team winning games, saying winning it all was not “fulfilling.”

Then, as the offense continually sputtered around a line imploded by injury and the shortcomings of Hurts, Brown not only complained on social media, he started quitting on plays.

Unforgivable.

One report stated that Brown repeatedly asked to be traded during the season.

Now, he has his wish.

You have to believe his departure made wishes come true for others: Hurts and teammates like Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith; head coach Nick Sirianni and his assistants; Roseman and Lurie.

No more questions about a player they featured in the offense, paid about $100 million, and protected like regents of some adolescent king.

Given Brown’s behavior, the analogy is apt.

Still, the Eagles that Brown leaves behind will be as grateful as fans for what Brown delivered. There’s no way Barkley breaks rushing records in 2024 without Brown occupying safeties with his mere presence. There’s no way Sirianni, Roseman and Lurie win Super Bowl LIX without Brown’s example, his leadership, and his production. Brown was a mental health advocate, transparent with his own struggles and outspoken in his support of and compassion for others.

But there’s no way the Eagles he leaves behind aren’t sighing with relief that Brown, the Eagles’ best receiver since Terrell Owens, is no longer their problem.

That’s because A.J. was the Eagles’ biggest problem since T.O., too.

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