You have to start there. It is the independent variable. You have to define it in order to solve the rest of the equation. You can’t have an opinion on how the Eagles should proceed with their All-Pro wide receiver if you don’t first have an opinion on what they should do without him.
Feel free to take as much time as you need. Just make sure that you don’t dwell too long on the internal options. Right now, there aren’t any.
Aside from DeVonta Smith, the Eagles have exactly two pass-catchers under contract who had a target for them last season. Darius Cooper and Britain Covey combined for 11 catches on 112 yards. Other than that, your options are limited to 2024 sixth-round pick Johnny Wilson, who missed last season with a knee injury. The tight end room doesn’t even have anyone to turn on the lights.
So … what’s the plan?
The draft is not a serious option. Not where the Eagles are picking, at least. Last year’s draft yielded 11 wide receivers and tight ends who played at least 50% of their team’s snaps. Four of those players were selected before pick No. 23. Five others played for the Titans, Browns or Jets. Maybe they’ll be in a position to draft this year’s Emeka Egbuka (No. 19 to the Bucs in 2024). But they could just as easily end up with this year’s Matthew Golden (No. 23 to the Packers). The best way to get yourself in trouble on draft day is to try to solve this year’s problems.
It isn’t outlandish to think Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard might be capable of what Deebo Samuel did as a rookie when the 49ers drafted him in 2019.
That’s not to say they shouldn’t be looking. Nor that they won’t find some help. Alabama’s Germie Bernard would make a worthy target, even at No. 23. Whatever he measures at the combine, the game speed is there, as is the hybrid 6-foot-1, 204-pound frame. It isn’t outlandish to think he could do what Deebo Samuel did as a rookie after the 49ers drafted him at No. 36 overall in 2019: 57 catches, 802 yards, 14 carries, 159 yards. But to feel comfortable trading Brown, you need a lot more certainty than “isn’t outlandish.”
Free agents? Sure, let’s talk. Alec Pierce would be a no-brainer. At 25 years old, the Colts wideout caught 47 passes for 1,003 yards with Daniel Jones, Philip Rivers and Riley Leonard at quarterback. He isn’t anywhere close to Brown as a singular talent. Still, if you combine him with a draft pick like Bernard, he could be part of a radical and positive identity shift in both the short- and long-term.
Only one problem: The Eagles are one of 32 teams that can bid on free agents. A team like the Patriots can offer more cap room and a better quarterback and an acute need at the position. I’m skeptical the Eagles would win out.
The free agent crop is interesting even beyond Pierce and presumptive Cowboys franchisee George Pickens. Jauan Jennings and Mike Evans could replace some of Brown’s physicality in traffic and in 50/50 situations. Again, though, you have to wonder. Will players who have multiple options err on the side of a team with a run-heavy approach and Jalen Hurts at quarterback?
The conundrum is the same as it was three months ago, when the annual pre-trade-deadline nonsense reached its crescendo. The dream that the Eagles might part ways with their WR1 died in a head-first collision with reality. However disgruntled Brown was, however diminished his skills were, nobody else on the roster would have done enough in his stead to survive such a move. To suggest otherwise was to betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how this Eagles passing offense works. It would not have functioned without him.
Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce had his first 1,000-yard season with Daniel Jones, Philip Rivers, and Riley Leonard throwing to him.
True, the Eagles barely functioned with Brown. But that only matters if you think they should have given up on the season at the trade deadline. That’s what they would have been doing by trading Brown. Look at their track record without him. Brown missed four (meaningful) games in his first three seasons with the Eagles. The Eagles lost three of them, and they scored 15 points in the game that they won. In 2025, the Eagles scored 38 points against the Giants without Brown. They also threw the ball 20 times. Smith was the only wide receiver to catch more than one of them.
Plenty of NFL teams have managed to win without two WR1 types. But we’ve never seen Hurts have to do it. Right now, the Eagles don’t even have a WR2 who is better than replacement level. Keep in mind, the Eagles already have a hugely pressing need at tight end. They could need to spend big bucks to retain Jaelan Phillips, or to sign a replacement. In the draft, they will be hard-pressed to turn down an opportunity to add another offensive lineman to their feeder system.
The preponderance of the circumstances says the Eagles probably shouldn’t trade Brown. Life would be a lot easier if they didn’t need to. The onus is on the case for how they can do so and survive. If you can make one, I’m sure they’d love to hear it.
The new league year is right around the corner, and it’s almost time for the 2026 Eagles roster to start coming into focus.
But first, the annual NFL Scouting Combine.
It’s the next thing on the offseason calendar, and while the focus for much of the week will be on the athletes going through performance testing, when it comes to the Eagles, it should be a big week for news related to the team.
Reporters typically get to talk to Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman around the combine, and there are certainly plenty of questions to ask this year.
Here’s a look at five of the most pressing Eagles topics the coach and general manager may be addressing soon:
Why did the Eagles choose Sean Mannion, and why did they assemble this staff around him?
It’s been three weeks since the Eagles filled their vacancy at offensive coordinator by hiring Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion, a 33-year-old former quarterback with only two years of coaching experience. But we’ve yet to hear from Sirianni or Roseman, besides an initial statement released by the team, on why the Eagles hired Mannion, what they liked about him, and what hiring him means for the future of the scheme.
In the weeks since, the rest of the offensive coaching staff has been filled out. The Eagles hired one of their other coordinator candidates, former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, as pass game coordinator. They hired Packers wide receivers coach Ryan Mahaffey to be the tight ends coach and run game coordinator. Longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland left the team (more on that later), and he was replaced by Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach Chris Kuper.
The Eagles retained wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead and running backs coach Jemal Singleton, sources told The Inquirer, and, according to CBS Sports, plan to shift Parks Frazier, last season’s pass game coordinator, to quarterbacks coach.
Sean Mannion will be calling plays for the first time under intense scrutiny in Philadelphia.
The new offensive coaching staff, under a first-year play-caller, is an amalgamation of coaches with different backgrounds. What will it mean for the scheme going forward?
Sirianni said after removing Kevin Patullo that the offense needed to “evolve.” He’ll soon have the chance to explain why and how this group can help it do that.
What happened with Jeff Stoutland?
The longest-tenured coach in the building, who has been widely regarded as the best offensive line coach in the sport, is no longer coaching with the Eagles.
Why?
The Eagles wanted Stoutland back as the offensive line coach, league sources said, but Stoutland, who also held the title of run game coordinator, wasn’t going to be as involved in the running game, and the Eagles are shifting schemes. Change is in the air. But Stoutland’s role in the running game decreased as last season went on, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported recently on the unCovering the Birds podcast.
How did it get to this, and how much of an impact will his departure have on the offensive line moving forward?
Don’t expect Roseman to say anything that strays too far from his normal line when it comes to A.J. Brown and players like him.
Here’s what Roseman said at the end-of-year news conference on Jan. 15 when asked if he was open to trading Brown or if trading him was a nonstarter: “It is hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J.’s a great player. I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for when we go out here in free agency and in the draft is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. I think that would be my answer.”
Still, Roseman likely will be asked about the star receiver’s future in Philadelphia in the coming days. It’s for good reason. Brown, of course, hasn’t been shy about his frustrations with the direction of the offense. But during Super Bowl week, Brown appeared on Micah Parsons’ podcast and spoke about his excitement for the future and the new offensive coaching staff. “Sometimes change is not a bad thing,” he said. He also called Philadelphia “home.”
Does wide receiver A.J. Brown have enough love for Philadelphia to remain an Eagle?
While he didn’t sound like someone who was about to ask for a trade, it’s still early in the offseason.
Brown’s future with the team impacts how the Eagles approach the draft and free agency, so a decision on whether the Eagles see him in their immediate plans probably is already made. It’s complicated, however, because of the salary cap implications. The cost to trade Brown before June 1 would be $48.939 million, according to Over the Cap. If the Eagles traded him after that, they would incur a dead cap charge of $22.09 million. Much more palatable, but still a lot of dead money.
It begs the question, too: Could the Eagles ever get good value in a trade for Brown?
Roseman probably won’t be showing his cards in the coming days, but it’s a topic he’ll have to address.
How much has the future outlook of the offensive line changed, and how will it impact the plans?
The offensive line took a big step back in 2025 thanks to a slew of injuries. Lane Johnson missed half the season. Landon Dickerson was never fully healthy and may never be again. Cam Jurgens played through back pain.
At the time of Stoutland’s departure, it wasn’t even a sure thing that Johnson and Dickerson would be back for the 2026 season. A unit that basically was plug-and-play has turned into a big question mark for the Eagles. How much longer will Johnson and Dickerson play? (Editor’s note: Johnson announced his return for 2026 on Thursday.)
Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson’s health and future were in doubt before he announced his return on Thursday.
Jurgens, meanwhile, shared a video this week on social media of him in Colombia undergoing stem cell treatments. Jurgens, via his agent, declined to comment further on what led him to go that route or how he is feeling. The center had back surgery after the Super Bowl last year and did not play to his 2024 level this past season.
This impacts how the Eagles approach the draft and free agency. They’re due to get an eventual replacement for Johnson in the door, but they now need to think about the future of the interior.
Who stays, who goes, and who could get extended or restructured?
It soon will be time for the Eagles to go shopping on the free agency market, but there are some players on the current roster in line to have their contracts extended or possibly restructured.
Let’s start with Jordan Davis, who broke out in 2025 and earned himself a new contract. The Eagles picked up Davis’ fifth-year option last year, but signing him to a new deal is almost too obvious because it would free up much-needed cap space for 2026.
Will defensive tackle Jordan Davis be first in line for a contract extension after a breakout season?
There’s also Jalen Hurts, whose cap number jumps from nearly $22 million in 2025 to nearly $32 million in 2026. It will be more than $42 million in 2027, more than $47 million in 2028, and a whopping $97.5 million in 2029. But Hurts has no guaranteed money beyond this season. A restructure or extension could be on the table sooner than later.
What about the free agents? Jaelan Phillips, for example, is one of the best edge rushers on the market, and the Eagles need some of those. Safety Reed Blankenship is slated to hit the market, and the Eagles need a safety.
Roseman may not tip his hand, but he’ll certainly be asked about all of it with free agency just a few weeks away.
In 2014, after one season as the Eagles’ head coach, Chip Kelly decided he’d had enough of DeSean Jackson, who’d been kind of a headache. Jeffrey Lurie had given Kelly power over the roster, and Kelly cut Jackson.
Jackson proceeded to lead the NFL in yards per catch in three of the next five seasons, two of which were 1,000-yard seasons. The Eagles would have just one 1,000-yard wide receiver in the next eight seasons (2014-21). They later had two in the same year, 2022, and the No. 1 receiver was A.J. Brown.
Today, 12 years after Kelly’s first foolish move — he also traded running back LeSean McCoy and he drafted disappointing receivers Nelson Agholor and Jordan Matthews — the Eagles again have a high-production receiver who’s been kind of a headache. NFL sources say they Eagles are considering trading him, even though such a trade would carry severe salary-cap ramifications; about $16 million, minimum.
That receiver is A.J. Brown.
Trading him would be crazy.
The Eagles should not even entertain offers for Brown. He is 28. He is driven. He is dedicated. He is irreplaceable. He’s spent the last four years making quarterback Jalen Hurts look good. That’s got to count for something.
Sure, he’s a diva, but then, he’s always been a diva. He was a diva when they traded for him four years ago. Brown immediately hung an “Always Open” sign above his locker. Huge diva move.
He has, at times, looked exasperated on the field. He has argued with coach Nick Sirianni on the sideline. For the last two seasons he’s continually criticized the offense both in person and on social media. The Eagles let him get away with it because they knew he’d still play well. They also let him get away with it because they knew, when they made the trade, and when they extended his contract twice, that he was likely to act like this.
Think about it: If you let your kid throw tantrums on the floor of the grocery store for three years, you can’t expect him to stop throwing tantrums when he’s 4. You just hope the tantrums aren’t so bad you can’t keep shopping.
Could this behavior be a distraction? On most teams, yes. But nobody in the Eagles locker room pays much attention to Brown’s antics.
“There is a genuine appreciation for A.J,” Jason Kelce said Wednesday on 94 WIP.
Kelce has been retired for two seasons, but he remains well-connected to his former coaches and teammates. On Wednesday, Kelce also noted that Brown’s frustrations might be limiting the receiver’s effectiveness. Kelce certainly would know. In his final season, Kelce, himself an emotional player, counseled Brown on harnessing frustration.
Both Kelce and Brown’s current teammates know Brown for who he is. They also know the Eagles cannot afford the luxury of sudden sanctimony.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrates a touchdown with center Jason Kelce during the 2023 season.
But does he really want to be here?
Brown hinted during the season that he might want to leave Philadelphia, posting the Bible verse Mark 6:11 after Week 4 on X: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
He then ignored the media for the season’s final two months. When he departed the locker room after the Eagles’ home playoff loss to the 49ers, he hugged several teammates in scenes that looked like permanent goodbyes.
However, last week, Brown broke his media silence on Micah Parsons’ podcast, apparently to send the message that he’d be happy to return to the Eagles.
“As an offense, we just come back and just really watch the tape and rediscover ourselves,” Brown said.
Asked if he was excited about new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, he replied, “I’m excited for the season. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
In the bigger picture, it’s less important whether Brown wants to return than whether the Eagles can win another championship without him.
They cannot.
The Eagles have a shrinking window in which to reach another Super Bowl without a significant rebuild. They went to two of the last four Super Bowls. Get rid of Brown, and you can forget reaching a third any time soon.
He just had a 1,000-yard season in only 15 games, and that was his worst season in Philly. In 2024 he had a 1,000-yard season and played in just 13 games. He gave up on a few routes this season, and he disappeared in the wild-card playoff loss, but even when he’s bad, he’s good.
He’s gained 5,034 receiving yards on 339 catches in four seasons. That’s 387 more yards and 76 more catches than Mike Quick’s best four seasons, 986 yards and 104 catches than Harold Carmichael’s best four seasons, and 1,097 yards and 131 catches more than Tommy McDonald’s best four seasons as an Eagle. They played in different eras, especially McDonald, but if you think A.J. Brown wouldn’t have dominated in the 1950s and ’60s, then you need to YouTube some NFL Films.
Why would you trade the best receiver in team history if he’s still in his prime?
Which opens another discussion: Is Brown still in his prime?
If you look at simple stats, then probably yes. If you look at some advanced metrics, you might think his moon is waning.
For instance, Brown’s average separation last season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, was 2.2 yards, eighth-lowest among qualified receivers. It also was an improvement; his 2.1 average in 2024 was third-lowest. But does it matter? After all, when he went to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023 his separation averages were 2.6 and 2.4 yards, respectively.
Brown still consistently draws coverage from the other team’s best cornerback. He still consistently draws double teams. Last season, Pro Football Focus ranked him 11th in all-around play among receivers with at least 60 targets. He was No. 2 in drop rate.
That’s not to say he couldn’t have played better, but then, the wide receiver position is more dependent on the rest of the team than any other position.
The Eagles passing offense has averaged fewer than 195 yards per game each of the last two seasons, which seems absurd considering the weapons at Hurts’ disposal, but nobody in their right mind would consider this issue to fall at the feet of Brown, nor DeVonta Smith, nor Dallas Goedert.
In 2024, with defenses having discovered Hurts’ shortcomings and challenged Hurts’ arm, veteran offensive coordinator Kellen Moore leaned on running back Saquon Barkley and a historically dominant offensive line. That’s how the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
In 2025, opposing defenses sold out to stop Barkley, which worked, since the line had deteriorated due to age and injury. Challenged again, and with a first-time coordinator in Kevin Patullo, Hurts failed.
Not Brown. Hurts.
Let’s be real, folks.
You’re talking about trading the wrong damned guy.
There was plenty of blame to go around after the Eagles’ postseason run ended early, following a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card round. But a few people are getting more heat than the rest.
One of the main culprits was offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was fired after one season in the role and is reportedly on his way to Miami. Another person who has taken a lot of the blame is three-time Pro Bowler A.J. Brown.
Throughout the season former Eagles center Jason Kelce defended the receiver. Now, with Brown’s future in Philly still in question, Kelce was asked about the receiver’s perceived lack of effort on 94 WIP.
“How hard is it to play with a player that’s not giving full effort?” Kelce said. “It’s incredibly frustrating, right. I think any player that’s out there when you’re seeing a teammate not go all out, like that’s all you want from your teammates. And that’s all we want as fans. And it’s a really hard thing to optically watch. It’s frustrating to watch.”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his four seasons in Philly.
Brown finished last season with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. In the wild-card loss, Brown recorded three receptions for 25 yards and had a costly third-down drop late in the game.
“I think whatever was affecting A.J. affected the team,” Kelce said. “And I think that A.J. was clearly affected. I don’t know to what degree A.J. affected the other guys, probably a little bit. Whenever you have somebody who doesn’t have the right energy come through the building and you can just feel it. It’s not good, right? But, I think the reality is most of the words that come out of the building — from players, from coaches, from everybody — love A.J. Brown. … There’s a genuine appreciation for A.J. Do you know how hard that is when it’s so apparent that he’s frustrated on the field?
“ … He’s well respected. I think part of it is that he’s a great player and teammates want him there and know that he can be a dominating force for them. He’s just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play. And it makes him play worse, and makes the offense worse, and it makes his energy worse. And some guys can block that out and go out there and just play football. He is clearly not one of those guys.”
Jason Kelce on a perceived lack of effort from A.J. Brown this season:
"He's just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse." pic.twitter.com/tsQxzKH1np
Kelce has since clarified his comments with a post on X.
“It seems people are taking this as a dig on A.J. Brown, which wasn’t really the intent of the response,” Kelce wrote. “It was apparent that A.J. was frustrated, and it’s apparent that A.J. lets that affect his play at times. That’s frustrating to watch as fans and people on the outside. But it’s more important that his teammates and coaches for all of this external frustration still love and only say positive things about A.J.
“That probably means that his teammates understand where he’s coming from, and that’s what really matters. If there was an issue with it, teammates would be saying different things publicly. That was the point I was attempting to say. That was the purpose of this response and I worded it poorly. I love A.J. Brown, I loved him as a teammate, and I think if he ends up getting traded, the Eagles, and fans will end up regretting it majorly.”
Brown is under contract with the Eagles through the 2029 season.
While Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown made headlines during the season for his behavior, his attitude made headlines for a different reason this week. After the Eagles’ 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 11, Brown has remained relatively mum, especially following him jawing back and forth with coach Nick Sirianni.
Then Brown popped up Thursday, but for different reasons — gifting a PlayStation 5 to a stranger.
The receiver was seen in Florida making a kid’s day. While with his fiancé, Kelsey Riley, and his son, A.J. Brown Jr., he pulled his car to the side of the road, where a kid was selling candy. Riley rummaged through the assortment of candy, which included Nerd Gummy Clusters, Sour Patch Kids, and M&M’s before picking a bag of Gummy Bears.
Brown, on the other hand, pulled out a wad of cash before asking Riley a question.
“How much is a PS5 these days?” Brown said.
Riley responded that they typically are in the $500-600 range, prompting Brown to hand the kids several hundred dollars so that he could buy one for himself. Although Brown Jr., was less than impressed, pleading for an apple in the video .
But before departing back into Brown’s car, Brown and the kid took a picture together.
Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott celebrates an extra point during the third quarter of the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The Eagles' season ended sooner than expected with a loss to the 49ers in the wild-card round. Now the Birds will try to assemble a roster that can help them get back to their Super Bowl standard. Beat writer Jeff McLane makes his picks on what personnel decisions he sees the team making this offseason.
Make your pick for each player by swiping the cards below — right for Stay or left for Go. Yes, just like Tinder. Finding it hard to decide? We'll also show you how other Inquirer readers have voted so far and what we think the team will do.
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Quarterbacks
The biggest question here (for a second straight year) is whether Tanner McKee will stick around as the backup.
#1
Jalen
Hurts
Crowd says
Height
6'1"
Weight
223lb.
Age
27
Inky Says Stay
We've seen what he can accomplish with a good coordinator. But he needs help in the drop-back game if he's going to elevate.
#14
Sam
Howell
Crowd says
Height
6'1"
Weight
220lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
Tanner McKee's broken hand in camp forced the Eagles to trade for him before the season. He's a free agent and should get a backup opportunity elsewhere.
#19
Kyle
McCord
Rookie
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
218lb.
Age
23
Inky Says Go
He had a rough first camp, but a full season to watch and learn may help. His return may depend on the new coordinator and scheme.
#16
Tanner
McKee
Crowd says
Height
6'6"
Weight
231lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Stay
It's not fair to base an evaluation solely on the finale. But it's unlikely the Eagles will receive attractive enough offers to trade.
A.J. Brown’s long-term future with the Eagles might be the biggest question of the 2026 offseason.
#80
Darius
Cooper
Rookie
Crowd says
Height
5'11"
Weight
210lb.
Age
24
Inky Says Stay
The undrafted rookie was used mostly as a run blocker, but he has some receiving upside. He'll be back.
#11
A.J.
Brown
Crowd says
Height
6'1"
Weight
226lb.
Age
28
Inky Says Stay
His future is the question of the offseason. By his standards, he didn't have a good season and may have lost a half-step. He still projects as one of the best. There's also a significant cap charge.
#18
Britain
Covey
Crowd says
Height
5'8"
Weight
173lb.
Age
28
Inky Says Stay
It took too long, but when he was promoted to the active roster the return game was given a boost.
#2
Jahan
Dotson
Crowd says
Height
5'11"
Weight
184lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
It must have been tough running all those for-the-love-of-the-game routes. He was just too slight to make an impact as the third receiver.
#6
DeVonta
Smith
Crowd says
Height
6'0"
Weight
170lb.
Age
27
Inky Says Stay
He was maybe the one guy on offense who met expectations. If A.J. Brown leaves, he should be the bona fide No. 1.
#85
Terrace
Marshall
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
200lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
The Eagles need more young receivers with upside. He doesn't satisfy that need.
#86
Quez
Watkins
Crowd says
Height
6'0"
Weight
193lb.
Age
27
Inky Says Go
After a few post-Eagles years in the NFL wilderness, he returned to the practice squad.
#89
Johnny
Wilson
Crowd says
Height
6'6"
Weight
228lb.
Age
24
Inky Says Stay
The Eagles lost their best blocking receiver in training camp. He should return in that role.
Some big names could be moving on here, as Nakobe Dean and Jaelan Phillips appear set to test the market.
#53
Zack
Baun
Pro Bowl
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
225lb.
Age
29
Inky Says Stay
He proved that 2024 wasn't a fluke and his contract guarantees he's here through 2027.
#30
Jihaad
Campbell
Rookie
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
235lb.
Age
21
Inky Says Stay
He handled his demotion with grace, but the former first-rounder needs to be in the lineup next season. Can he be a hybrid?
#59
Chance
Campbell
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
232lb.
Age
26
Inky Says Stay
He provided good looks on the scout team and should probably get a look-see in training camp. Making the 53-man roster is another thing.
#17
Nakobe
Dean
Crowd says
Height
5'11"
Weight
231lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
A few years ago, it would have been a no-brainer to retain him. But the Eagles have Campbell in the wings and their most depth at off-ball linebacker in years.
#58
Jalyx
Hunt
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
252lb.
Age
24
Inky Says Stay
Eagles' scouting deserves accolades for plucking this former safety out of anonymity. He did it all in his second season. The future is bright.
#48
Patrick
Johnson
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
248lb.
Age
27
Inky Says Go
Practice squad Patrick has been a loyal soldier for five on-and-off years. He wasn't getting call-ups late in the season.
#42
Smael
Mondon Jr.
Rookie
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
224lb.
Age
22
Inky Says Stay
He'll be a depth piece who can play special teams for years, if need be.
#13
Azeez
Ojulari
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
240lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
It's hard to see him wanting to be back when it was clear the Eagles slow-played his return from a hamstring injury.
#50
Jaelan
Phillips
Crowd says
Height
6'5"
Weight
266lb.
Age
26
Inky Says Go
He started strong and then leveled out. Vic Fangio likes him, but is he worth the squeeze when others will pay?
#3
Nolan
Smith Jr.
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
238lb.
Age
24
Inky Says Stay
The triceps injury lingered into the season. He plays with great effort, but size and durability remain concerns.
#54
Jeremiah
Trotter Jr.
Crowd says
Height
6'0"
Weight
225lb.
Age
23
Inky Says Stay
He could probably start at middle linebacker for a number of teams, but will likely have to watch for another season.
#0
Joshua
Uche
Crowd says
Height
6'3"
Weight
226lb.
Age
27
Inky Says Go
The trade for Jaelan Phillips and Brandon Graham's unretirement marginalized him. He'll likely want to explore other options.
#43
Ben
VanSumeren
Crowd says
Height
6'2"
Weight
231lb.
Age
25
Inky Says Go
It will be tough to return from back-to-back season-ending knee injuries, but I wouldn't count him out.
The main topics at the end-of-year news conference Thursday afternoon at the NovaCare Complex mainly centered on why Kevin Patullo was no longer the offensive coordinator of the Eagles, what Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman wanted in his replacement, and the evolution of the team’s offense.
But two additional questions during the 24-minute session will have an impact on that next coordinator and the Eagles overall.
A.J. Brown’s future in Philadelphia is a major offseason storyline, as is Lane Johnson’s future playing football in general.
Brown’s frustrations this season and last have been well-documented. The star receiver expressed his frustrations with the offense and his involvement in it via cryptic social media posts, on a video game livestream, and in media interviews. He declined to make himself available to the media after the Eagles’ postseason exit, both postgame and the following day as the team cleared its lockers.
Would Roseman be open to trading Brown, or is that a nonstarter?
“It is hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J. is a great player,” Roseman said. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for, when we go out here in free agency and in the draft, is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. So that would be my answer.”
It was not a yes, and it was not a no. Reading between the lines, trading Brown would require the Eagles to get a haul in return.
A.J. Brown’s unhappiness was apparent during the 2026 season.
There also are salary cap implications.
Brown signed a three-year extension in 2024 that carries through the 2029 season. If the Eagles traded Brown before June 1, they would take on a dead cap hit of $43.5 million. Keeping Brown would mean a $23.4 million hit. Trading him would offer cap savings in 2027 and beyond. The Eagles have been open to taking on dead cap in the past, and Roseman has been a savant at gaming the NFL’s salary cap system to the Eagles’ advantage.
Johnson’s future also is a big factor in the cap math next season and beyond. The future Hall of Fame right tackle missed the final seven regular-season games as well as Sunday’s playoff loss with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. Johnson has talked publicly last season and before this season about his career timeline.
“My goal is to play well throughout my middle to maybe my upper 30s,” Johnson, who will be 36 in May, said last March. “I love the challenge of being an older player and the routine you got to keep up with.”
Lane Johnson’s injury-related absence in 2025 had a material effect on the offense’s production.
That was, however, before he suffered another injury. Johnson, like Brown, was not available to reporters as the season wrapped.
Did he give any indication to Roseman whether he’ll be back?
“I think all those conversations that we have with our players are between us, and anything they’re doing — I’m not saying that negatively or positively — but anyone you ask about, I think that’s their business to discuss,” Roseman said. “Obviously, you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player who has been a huge, huge part of any of our success we’ve had. And when you watch him play, he’s still playing at an elite level.”
Not a yes. Not a no.
The ‘natural arc’
The futures of those Eagles stars are pivotal because their status impacts how the Eagles approach free agency and the draft. They also make up a large chunk of the team’s high-priced offense.
The Eagles are at an interesting point in the state of their roster. They have an aging and expensive offense that is underperforming relative to its cost and a young and inexpensive defense. That will change soon. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are in line for extensions. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are right behind them. The Eagles need to improve at edge rusher and have other holes to fill.
Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will have to balance the team’s roster needs with financial pragmatism.
“As you get better, you have a natural arc of the team, and I think that, when you look at our team, we drafted a lot of offensive players, we re-signed a lot of offensive players,” Roseman said when asked if the team had the resources to keep the players it wants to. “We drafted a lot of defensive guys that were young and on rookie contracts. There’s natural transition in what we do … in terms of where you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying your guys who are coming up.
“The important thing for us is there are players we can’t lose — obviously, we’re going to do what’s best for us … but within reason — and that we want to keep around here because they’re really good players, homegrown players that are really good people, that are part of our core. With that, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. That’s on me to make sure the sacrifices we make are filled in with really good players again.”
“If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our head, I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” he added. “I know we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl and when we fall short I look at myself. I look at the things that I could have done different and I look to improve.”
It was not Roseman’s best offseason coming off last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles did not get great production from their 2025 draft class, though they also had a roster without many openings. It’s worth noting that their first two picks in 2024 were All-Pro selections this season, and the jury is still out on their first two picks from the most recent drafts. They did not, however, make adequate upgrades on the edge and twice had to lure players off their couches to join the team before being forced to use a draft pick to acquire Jaelan Phillips. They don’t have obvious answers for what’s next for an aging and declining offensive line.
They need to get younger and cheaper at some positions, but they also have the talent to try to push for another championship. Finding the next offensive coordinator is a big part of that, but roster construction is critical. Roseman’s offseason task is to balance it all.
“You can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths,” he said. “I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship-caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future.”
When 11-year-old Sam Salvo woke up on Christmas morning, he was surprised with tickets to the Eagles’ wild-card game. When he woke up on Monday morning, after the Eagles’ loss, he was all over the internet, thanks to his viral postgame rant.
“[When I got the tickets], I didn’t know who they were playing, but I was already excited,” Salvo said. “I thought they were going to win. I was like ready to do a backflip. I was so excited.”
Salvo remembers the excitement leading up to kickoff. Lincoln Financial Field, covered in Eagles green as fans piled in to watch the Birds take on the San Francisco 49ers, was ready to erupt. The Eagles took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, but their Super Bowl defense ended early with a 23-19 defeat.
“It went from everyone being excited to be there, everyone getting ready for a dub,” Salvo said. “Then everyone got pretty sad really quickly. Everyone around me was sad.”
However, one fan in the crowd said something that resonated with Salvo: Win or lose, we’re the [expletive] Birds.
So Salvo left the stadium with his head held high, despite the crushing loss, and that’s when an opportunity presented itself. As he and his father walked toward the parking lot, they noticed 6abc reporter Briana Smith conducting interviews.
“When we were walking past the broadcaster, my dad was like, ‘No, I’m not trying to waste any time here,’” Salvo said. “And then I said, ‘I want to do it.’ So, I did it.”
The Blue Bell native stepped up to the microphone and let out what has become one of the most viral lines to come out of the Eagles’ playoff loss: I also want Kevin Patullo flipping burgers at the local McDonald’s.
“Whenever he’s an offensive coordinator,” Salvo told the camera, “it’s like he’s flipping burgers. … One half he’s cooking, and the other half is completely raw.”
The original post has more than a million likes. For Salvo, the attention was unexpected.
“Absolutely not [was I expecting it to go viral]. I had no idea,” the sixth grader said. “I was just hyped that I was on the news. Small win. But I never thought that I would expand this far.”
The video has gained more than 20 million views on Instagram alone — in fact, that’s just the original post, and does not count the tens of millions of views its received on other platforms and in other posts. Naturally, Salvo has become quite the popular kid.
“[After the game] I was thinking about how much the offense changed when Kevin Patullo came in,” Salvo said shortly after the news broke Tuesday. “So I just wanted to say anything about him that could get him fired. And it worked.
“I’m feeling good about it. Now we can hire a new offensive coordinator. If we could get Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, I think that would be great.”
Kevin Patullo lasted just one season as the Eagles offensive coordinator.
Salvo says he’s been bleeding green ever since his uncle gave him his first jersey … when he was born. Now, he also enjoys watching and analyzing games, listening to New Heights with Travis and Jason Kelce, and tuning into The Pat McAfee Show.
“He’s always been around grown-ups,” said his mother Zuzana. “So football Sundays have always been a huge thing. The talk and all that stuff has always been a big part of his life. You cannot stop that fire.”
Salvo’s passion for football is something he hopes to turn into a career down the line, if he doesn’t become a pro tennis player.
“I will absolutely try and be a football announcer,” Salvo said. “I don’t care if it’s college football, just any football.”
And as far as next steps for the Eagles this offseason, Salvo has a few more opinions on Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, whom he also said also needs to go during his viral interview.
“I’m not going to be mad if he stays, but I need him to show a little bit more effort,” Salvo said. “Because it’s been kind of annoying when we’ve been throwing him deep balls and he’s been showing no effort to even try and catch it.”
Brown, who had a heated exchange with Nick Sirianni during Sunday’s loss, has dodged the media twice since the end of the season.
The Eagles season ended sooner than expected, and that means there are plenty of questions surrounding the team as eight others continue to battle in the playoffs. Here’s what they’re saying about the Birds after their early exit …
‘Mediocre across the board’
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce believes the offensive coordinator isn’t the only person who should be blamed for Sunday’s loss.
“I know that everybody is out on Kevin Patullo. I happen to know the guy, I love Kevin Patullo,” Kelce said on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. “I know he’s a great coach. I know it wasn’t the best performance this year, offensively. They had the No. 1 highest-paid offense in the league and were mediocre across the board. That’s unacceptable. They had their chances to win that game [Sunday]. The players didn’t make the plays.”
"[The Eagles] had their chances to win that game yesterday, and the players didn't make the plays!"@JasonKelce acknowledges the coaching issues throughout the year, but holds the players accountable for losing against the 49ers 😳 pic.twitter.com/EiBdITdGXs
The 49ers defense held the Eagles to 19 points in Sunday’s loss at Lincoln Financial Field. Kelce praised the San Francisco defense for its efforts in the win over the defending champs.
“What Robert Saleh did to that defense, it’s commendable what they’ve done to get to here,” Kelce said. “It’s absolutely a testament to that organization and how well they’re built and how they function across the board. Kyle Shanahan with the trickeration, finding a way to get things open. You tip your cap to them. But Philly had their opportunities.”
Although Kelce may not be among those calling for Patullo to get fired, his coworker Marcus Spears certainly is.
“I’m not going to teeter around it, Kevin Patullo’s [butt] needs to be gone,” Spears said on Monday Night Countdown. “This was a horrible year of calling the offensive plays. And I don’t think the Philadelphia Eagles offense is as bad as we watched it based on the talent. That’s what kept us on the string all year long.”
"Kevin Patullo's ass needs to be gone." @MSpears96 feels strongly about the Eagles offensive play-calling this year 😬 pic.twitter.com/5nAFUxLunA
Patullo has been a member of the Birds coaching staff since Nick Sirianni arrived five seasons ago, but this was his first year as the offensive coordinator after he replaced Kellen Moore, who took the head coaching position with the New Orleans Saints. After the Birds’ short postseason run, ESPN’s Get Up show posed the question: Was Kevin Patullo the Eagles’ weakest link this season?
“The frustrating part about watching that offense, and it’s happened all year and it’s very on display in this game, is that it appears as if they’re not trying unless they’re trailing,” Domonique Foxworth said on Tuesday. “What I’m watching in the second half, it’s second-and-8, it’s second-and-10, it’s third-and-10, it’s third-and-11. And they’re running the ball and throwing swing passes. I’m not a fan of the Eagles, I’m just a fan of football. Like, come on. I imagine Eagles fans are watching this like, ‘Try something. We won a Super Bowl last year. We’ve been together all year and our answer on third-and-10 is a swing pass to Saquon Barkley?’”
A lot was made about the Eagles going conservative in the second half Sunday, but it’s been an issue throughout the season.
“This is the point that we made about this team all year. And maybe they just weren’t as good as we wanted them to pretend that they were,” Foxworth continued. “But the point that we made was, the reason we wanted them to be more aggressive offensively is that there will come a game where the breaks won’t come your way and you wish that you would have extended the lead. And I’m watching this game and they’re like, ‘We’re up by one, let’s go ahead and punt.’”
Foxworth also noted the difference between how the Eagles and Niners attacked those situations, with San Francisco being proactive while the Eagles seemed content to sit back and wait for something to happen.
“You watch this [49ers] team, which knows they’re not that good — or knows that they don’t have that much of a margin of error — they’re like, ‘Look, we’ve got to take shots.’ And we’re watching the Eagles like, ‘Come on. Do something, do something, do something.’”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown had multiple costly drops in the team’s wild-card loss.
‘Our offense becomes dull and stale’
Although most of the blame is being directed toward Patullo, there are some critics, including former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who have questioned Jalen Hurts’ role in this year’s predictable offense.
McCoy went on The Speakeasy podcast after the game and said the quarterback was holding back the offense. “We can’t do different exotic looks, different formations, different motions because I’m hearing that [Hurts] can’t really do it,” he said.
But Hurts didn’t appear to hold back the offense a year ago, and former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb defended the Super Bowl LIX MVP on 94 WIP.
“Let me break it down for this, and I know there’s a lot of rumblings about what Jalen wants to run and what he doesn’t like,” McNabb said. “He’s deserving of that decision as the quarterback of the franchise. He’s the face of the franchise. He’s won you a Super Bowl. He’s been Super Bowl MVP. You know he’s been in this league long enough where he decides what he likes and what he doesn’t like.
“It’s our choice as the quarterback to be able to be comfortable with what we’re calling. So we can eliminate that whole mindset that everybody on the outside is trying to create. That whole narrative.”
Instead, to McNabb, there was one critical moment that changed the Eagles offense for the rest of the season.
“To me, with this offense, everything shifted ever since A.J. [Brown] started talking he wasn’t getting the ball,” said McNabb, who played alongside another outspoken wide receiver in Terrell Owens. “The offense shifted and everything was kind of going to A.J., and DeVonta [Smith] being the third option. And so, that’s kind of to me where it took us away from what we were very successful with last season to what’s going on with this season. And we didn’t make that change.
“And so we’re trying to please people now. So, our offense becomes dull and stale because we don’t move guys around.”
The Eagles are who we thought they were. A team that consistently disappointed its fans despite winning the NFC East in defense of its Super Bowl crown put in a disappointing one-and-done playoff performance under a clueless offensive coordinator, with a banged-up O-line and some stars (cough, cough…A.J. Brown) perhaps past their peak. But this is what Philly fandom is all about: one battle after another.
Dirty, toxic oil from Venezuela is the last thing that America needs
John Beard drives near a liquid natural gas facility in Port Arthur, Texas. In addition to LNG facilities, Port Arthur is surrounded by oil refineries and petrochemical plants. Beard says Black and brown communities like Port Arthur are having to bear much of the risk posed by the facilities.
You could say that crude oil is in John Beard Jr.’s blood. His dad worked for more than 44 years at a giant Gulf Oil refinery in the heady 20th-century days of the South Texas energy boom, and Beard then followed his father’s footsteps by working 38 years at a rival Exxon facility in Beaumont, before heading home to sleep in the shadow of Port Arthur’s own dense row of dozens of refineries.
But today, Beard — a longtime civic activist and political leader in Port Arthur’s large Black community — is fighting to keep oil out of his neighbors’ blood, literally.
“It was nothing to wake up the next morning and find a yellow stain against the side of your house with something had been released in the air,” Beard told me last week on the phone as he talked about growing up surrounded by tall refinery stacks. “You may have smelled it, or you may have slept through it and all and come to find out that it stained your house or whatever.”
“You know how you say when the refinery has a sneeze, we get pneumonia?” he asked. “But no, we don’t get pneumonia. We get cancer.” The most-feared disease has touched pretty much every family that Beard knows in the economically struggling town.
This was all before last week’s lightning bolt of news: that the U.S. military had bombed Venezuela and seized its indicted strongman leader Nicolás Maduro. It was quickly followed by Donald Trump announcing a scheme to bring some 30-to-50-million barrels of oil to the United States — meaning the backyards of Beard and his neighbors.
Indeed, experts have tagged Valero’s big refinery in Port Arthur that towers over Beard’s home — heavily invested in specialized equipment to process the sour, heavy crude that comes from Venezuela — as most likely to benefit from Trump’s proposed gambit.
Environmentalists say any new refinery jobs and U.S. corporate profits will be swamped by increased pollution of both the toxic chemicals that have already sickened Port Arthur, and greenhouse gases that threaten us all through climate change.
When America woke up 10 days ago to news that Trump had ordered the dead-of-night assault on Venezuela and seized Maduro, there was one word that echoed among Democratic lawmakers asked for a comment. “Is anyone going to just stop for a second and be honest?” U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts told CNN. “This is insane. What the hell are we doing?”
Those problems have been amplified in the days since Moulton and others branded the operation as “insane.” It is indeed insane when Trump declares to the world that the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela and a few days later his State Department says the country is unsafe for Americans because of violent roving gangs. For that matter, it’s also meshugana to upend the global order that has reigned since the end of World War II, when the U.S. led efforts to ban wars of aggression.
But we’re not talking nearly enough about what’s maybe most whacked-out about Trump’s splendid little war in Latin America — that by making his operation all about taking the oil, he seeks to endanger the entire planet by accelerating climate change. One expert told the Associated Press that increasing production of Venezuela’s thick, dirty crude by a target of 1 million barrels a day would also add roughly 360 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year from the production process — a significant spike in the gases that are warming our planet.
That Trump made it clear that his goal in making war against Venezuela was all about grabbing its oil on the one-year anniversary of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires — perhaps the most dramatic of the floods, amped-up hurricanes, and other weather catastrophes exacerbated by a hotter planet — was especially disgusting.
Michael E. Mann, director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania, told me that while Trump’s initial target for Venezuelan oil seems modest, experts believe the South American nation could harbor a whopping 300 billion barrels under ground. He has written that Trump aims to make America a “petrostate,” allied with other bad actors such as Russia and Saudi Arabia in working to undermine any global consensus around fighting climate change.
Less than a week after the Venezuela strike, the New York Times reported that Trump’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is dropping its longtime requirement to weigh the cost on human lives — early deaths, or chronic diseases like asthma — in regulating key air pollutants, including those from oil refineries. As a matter of policy, the U.S. government now values the dollars that Valero or Exxon can make from burning dirty oil over the very existence of Beard and his Texas community. That’s not surprising from the crew that’s dismantled an entire generation of EPA programs that once targeted the environmental racism that dumps pollutants on disadvantaged Black and brown communities like Port Arthur.
Indeed, the 100 fatalities caused by the Trump regime’s militarism against Venezuela — although a human-rights outrage — will likely pale over time against the canopy of death and destruction that historians will blame on the president’s obsession with doubling down on fossil fuels while other nations focus on green energy such as wind or solar.
A preview of the world’s coming attractions is arguably taking place right now on the blood-soaked streets of Tehran, where experts believe months of severe drought that sometimes left poorer neighborhoods in the Iranian capital with little or no running water has been a key trigger for the collapse of social order.
While foreign policy experts aren’t wrong to worry about U.S. expansionism triggering World War III, Trump’s backward-looking energy policies could cause a similar or worse toll through civil war and mass migration. While top energy officials — including the Exxon Mobil CEO who called Venezuela “uninvestable” — say Trump’s Venezuela dreams are economically unrealistic, the time lost for America to reduce its greenhouse gas pollution is a clear and present danger for civilization.
History is almost sure to judge that “insane” was far too generous a word to describe it.
Yo, do this!
I’ve written about this before but I can’t say enough about the essentialness of Andrew Hickey’s long-running podcast, A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, which currently is up to around 1969 on its long, strange trip. His latest episode — about Jimmy Cliff, “Many Rivers to Cross,” and the invention of reggae — proved unexpectedly prescient when Cliff died at age 81 just before its release. Now, the passing of the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir has me dredging up his recent episode about the Dead, “Dark Star,” and the rise of an almost spiritual cultural phenomenon.
In the world of media, the mid-2020s will be remembered as the moment that intrepid independent journalists stepped up and did the work that traditional newsrooms are suddenly too cowed or too compromised to perform. Since ICE and the Border Patrol amped up their immigration raids last summer, I’ve become a big fan of Amanda Moore (@noturtlesoup17.bsky.social on Bluesky), who has birddogged Greg Bovino and his goon squad from the Big Easy to the frigid streets of Minneapolis. Check out her coverage of the far right for Mother Jones.
Ask me anything
Question: Please explain how the “anti-elite” [MAGA] base can continue to support all the elite personnel in charge of America’s economy in this regime? Just ONE recent example: [Pennsylvania Sen. Dave] McCormick’s wife’s Facebook promotion in charge of….“sovereign relations concerning AI…“. — @tim215.bsky.social via Bluesky
Answer: Tim, I think the ascension of Dina Powell McCormick — the former Trump 45 aide who is also married to Pennsylvania’s Republican junior senator — to the job of president of Facebook’s parent company Meta has profoundly troubling implications. This is neither to say that Mark Zuckerberg’s new hire lacks qualifications, nor that Senate spouses should be barred from the private sector. But the move surely reflects Silicon Valley’s determination to curry favor with the personalist Trump regime by any means necessary. What bothers me even more, as a Pa. voter, is that I see the issues surrounding Meta — especially the currently unchecked rise of artificial intelligence, or AI — as requiring clear-eyed leadership. How can anyone now expect Sen. McCormick to be an honest broker?
What you’re saying about…
Last week’s question about the attack on Venezuela drew a robust response, as I expected, and — also as I expected — almost unanimous opposition to Trump’s policy for the troubled country. Most of you saw the military operation as illegal and unconstitutional, and share my befuddlement (see above) on the president’s assertion that taking Venezuela’s oil was the prime reason, except for Jon Elliott, who wrote: “I absolutely endorse Trump’s Pirates of the Caribbean excursion with one proviso — he performs Maduro redux in North Korea.” More typical was Tom Lees: “I was born in June 1945, two months before the dropping of the atomic bombs. The world order that has prevented WWIII seems to be in the process of being dismantled by people who should be imprisoned (Donald Trump) or institutionalized (Stephen Miller).”
📮 This week’s question: Given the uproar over the killing of Renee Good, is “Abolish ICE” now the mainstream position, and do you support it? If so, how should the U.S. enforce its immigration laws? Please email me your answer and put the exact phrase “Abolish ICE” in the subject line.
Backstory on the end of Newsom’s WH dreams
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during his State of the State address Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.
One of the most anticipated stories of 2026 isn’t supposed to happen until the waning weeks of the year, when the votes from the midterm election have been counted and top Democrats beginning lining up for their shot at following Donald Trump as the 48th president. But the most consequential early moment in that Dem primary race may have already happened. On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom faced a career-defining choice between the growing populism of his party’s anxious voters, or the Silicon Valley moguls who’ve been there for him in the past.
Newsom chose the billionaires.
At issue is a citizen initiative to place a wealth tax on California’s richest of the rich — those with a net worth of more than $1 billion — to pay a one-time levy equal to 5% of their assets, with most of the revenue targeted toward keeping troubled hospitals open and other healthcare costs. Backed by a powerful labor union, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the ballot measure reflects growing global rage over economic inequality and the current zeitgeist among Democrats likely to vote in the 2028 primaries. Not surprisingly, the push has angered Silicon Valley’s increasingly right-wing tech titans and investors like Peter Thiel or Google co-founder Larry Page who’ve threatened to move to red states like Florida or Texas.
Newsom, who is term-limited and leaves the governor’s mansion at year’s end, has long walked a tightrope between boosting his White House ambitions by relentlessly needling Donald Trump on social media while — with considerably less fanfare — catering to the high-tech poobahs who’ve funded his campaigns and who, Newsom insists, would damage the Golden State economy by leaving. On Monday, the governor told the New York Times that he firmly opposes the proposed wealth tax and will use his bully pulpit to fight the measure if it reaches the ballot.
“Hey idiots: You’re rich,” the independent journalist Hamilton Nolan wrote in a riposte to Thiel and Co. posted hours before Newsom’s decision. “Enjoy your lives. Pay your taxes and count your blessings. Is this the perfect life that you dreamed of for yourself — performatively kissing the ass of a dictator, giving up your home to flee the taxman, earning the enmity of your fellow man, all in service of money you will never spend?”
Nolan’s piece may have targeted the 0.1%, but it also seemed to carry a message that Newsom and any other Democratic presidential hopefuls need to hear. Running as a performative kind of center-left Trump with viral social media posts will get you attention but not the White House. The core of rank-and-file Democrats — especially the 7 million who took to the streets last summer for the No Kings protest — wants radical changes they’re not seeing in Newsom’s California. These include limits on artificial intelligence, a major overhaul of the Supreme Court, and — especially — an end to the gross unfairness of economic inequality. Hopefully Newsom’s pals in Silicon Valley can find him new work, because 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. already looks above his future pay grade.
What I wrote on this date in 2019
One of the many similarities between today and the United States seven years ago is that Democrats and other progressives were already deeply divided over how best to respond to Donald Trump and threats against democracy. On this date in 2019, I put forth my own idea that I’m not sure I’d endorse in hindsight: that Bernie Sanders was the most inspiring figure in U.S. politics, yet should stand down from the 2020 election. I wrote about “a sense that white dudes from the baby-boomer-and-older generation have been running things for far too long, and that America needs some new blood.” Instead, we got the two oldest presidents in American history. Read the rest: “Bernie Sanders is the leader America needs now. Just NOT by running for president in 2020.”
Recommended Inquirer reading
Late last year, I predicted that Trump’s plummeting popularity would cause him to double down on autocracy. For once, I was right. In my Sunday column, I wrote about the shocking ICE Minneapolis murder of 37-year-old poet and mom Renee Nicole Good and the broader war for the truth that was defined by the Trump regime’s instant smears against the victim. Over the weekend, I looked at how 2026’s shocking start from Caracas to the Twin Cities was punctuated by Trump’s jarring comments to the New York Times — that nothing can stop him but “my own mind” and “my own morality.” I stressed that he can and will be stopped — by our morality.
The nation remains on edge nearly one week after the ICE agent gunned down Good in the streets of Minneapolis, and already the resistance movement to ICE has seen some twists and turns. None has been more dramatic in Philadelphia than the unexpected return of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, an iconic social movement that thrived in the late 1960s and early ‘70s before a government crackdown. When several armed members of the Black Power group demonstrated against ICE near City Hall on Thursday, The Inquirer’s Brett Sholtis jumped on the story and followed up with an in-depth profile of the small group, whose Philly leader, Paul Birdsong, said Good’s killing “wouldn’t have happened if we were there.” Sholtis is part of the paper’s jacked-up weekend news coverage that is supported by your subscription dollars. Local journalism is a bulwark against tyranny. Become a part of it by subscribing to The Inquirer today.
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