One Super Bowl win later, it's hard to imagine the Eagles without wide receiver A.J. Brown, even though he only arrived in Philadelphia three seasons ago ... and in what will be regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in history.
As the story goes: On draft night in 2022, Eagles GM Howie Roseman handed the 18th and 101st overall picks over to the Titans, who gave up Brown in return. The Titans then used the 18th pick to draft receiver Treylon Burks, whom they released during training camp this season. Brown, meanwhile, is still a top target for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and continues to excel in Philly's offense. Boom—Roseman magic.
Speaking on an episode of Bussin' With The Boys released Thursday, Roseman shared some interesting behind-the-scenes details of the now-legendary trade and the inner workings of his decision-making process at the time.
"We had the trade done, the terms agreed to, in the morning, but we had to get a contract done with [Brown]," Roseman told Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. "At the time, we started with three first-round picks in that draft. We traded one for a future pick with New Orleans. We still had two, and basically, I said, "Jon [then-Titans GM Jon Robison], if we can't get a contract done, we can't do this trade. We can't trade you a [first-rounder] and a [third-rounder] for one year of a player. We gotta get a contract done first." (For context: Brown was entering the final year of his rookie deal at the time.)
So in a true war room scenario, Roseman was then finishing the deal with Brown between the Eagles' 13th overall pick (for which they traded up) and their 18th overall pick, which, again, they were hoping to ship to Tennessee.
"Nobody knew except a couple people that we were even doing it because I said imagine this falls apart. I'm gonna be the GM who can't get a deal done with A.J.? So, at that point, when we finished it, it was about pick 14," Roseman went on. "The deal was done and I turned to [Jeffrey Lurie] and [Nick Sirianni] and I said, 'We're gonna surprise our room when we're on the clock. They don't know anything about it.' When we get ready to pick, I'm just gonna say, 'Hey guys, we're picking A.J. Brown.' And they're all gonna look at me, like, 'What the f---'s going on?' But they're gonna be excited as sh--. It was really fun, it was great energy. It was really like, I can't even get to five on the amount of people who knew in our building because of the contract situation."
Watch that below:
Howie Roseman breaks down the inner workings behind the blockbuster AJ Brown trade pic.twitter.com/8TqK8GpViG
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) August 14, 2025
In his first season with the Birds, Brown racked up a stunning 1,496 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, only to follow up that performance with 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns the year after. Last season, he brought in 1,079 plus seven touchdowns, though he only played in 13 games.
All that to say—Roseman's unique GM abilities and expert deal-making once again paid off here, considering Brown's continued production and impact. And it's cool to hear exactly how he got it all done.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles' Howie Roseman Details Behind-the-Scenes of A.J. Brown Draft Night Trade.
