NFL executives mention Eagles among teams that could trade for Antonio Brown

The Antonio Brown saga is one of the NFL’s biggest offseason storylines so far.

The latest on the Steelers wide receiver — who has been trying to force his way out of western Pennsylvania — is that the team is willing to trade him. Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert recently said Brown and the Steelers have now agreed that a trade is best for both sides moving forward, though the team won’t move on from him at a discount.

So, where will Brown end up? According to some NFL executives, the Philadelphia Eagles are considered as a potential landing spot for one of the league’s most talented pass catchers. Via ESPN In$ider:

The most logical suitors for Brown: Execs agreed that New England would be the ideal suitor, but none thought the Steelers would send Brown to a primary AFC rival unless the compensation was unrealistically high. The San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles were four interesting NFC destinations execs mentioned. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos were two AFC teams execs thought made sense. The Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs were a couple of potentially opportunistic teams an exec thought were worth mentioning.

And here’s the reasoning that ESPN cited:

Eagles: They’ve been leaders in the trade market over the years and were active in the market for receivers during the season, acquiring Golden Tate.

Well, that seems like a pretty flimsy premise.

I don’t see the Eagles trading for Brown, who turns 31 in July.

The biggest obstacle is Brown’s contract. His 2019 base salary is $12.625 million and he’s currently set to carry a whopping $22.165 million cap figure this season. The Eagles, meanwhile, have the lowest amount of cap space in the league. Philly will be able to free up room, yes, but are they really going to want to use a lot of it on a disgruntled, aging wide receiver? I don’t think so.

The Steelers, meanwhile, shouldn’t be in a rush to trade Brown. By dealing him before June 1, Pittsburgh will only save $1 million in cap space compared to $21.1 million in dead money. By waiting until after June 1, the Steelers can save $15.1 million compared to $7 million in dead money.

The Eagles can’t just wait until June to address their wide receiver position. They’re going to have more realistic opportunities to improve that spot before then. They can’t just bank on Brown being available at a later time.

And so, despite what some NFL execs might think, it’s not likely Brown will be headed across the Keystone State to play in Philly next season. For what it’s worth, Gambling outlet BetDSI gives 14 NFL teams better odds than the Eagles to land Brown.