DeVonta Smith was asked about a possible trade involving A.J. Brown before a recent celebrity softball game, and the Eagles wide receiver declined to offer public thoughts on his teammate’s status. Smith kept his answer tight and repeated the same message twice: “I got a job to do so I plan to go out there and do that,” and “I just go out there and do my job.”
The comments came as Brown’s name has continued to surface in trade discussion, a possibility that would put Smith in a far different spot in Philadelphia. If Brown were moved, Smith would become the Eagles’ top wide receiver for the first time in his career, shifting the attention that has mostly landed elsewhere over the last four seasons.
That would be a notable turn for a player who arrived as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft and has built a résumé that is easy to overlook because of the player lining up next to him. Brown has been a 3-time NFL All-Pro over the last four seasons, while Smith has never made a Pro Bowl or earned NFL All-Pro recognition of his own. Still, Smith put together the third 1,000-yard receiving season of his career in 2025, another reminder that his production has remained steady even when he has not been the focal point.
Smith’s place in the lineup has also been a subject of debate outside the locker room. Before the 2025 season, Brad Gagnon labeled him the Eagles’ “Most Overpaid Player,” writing that Smith is “a very good player, but he’s a clear-cut No. 2 receiver who has averaged about 1,000 yards per season and never scored more than eight touchdowns in a campaign.” Gagnon also wrote that Smith’s $25 million AAV makes him the 12th-highest-paid player at his position.
Smith signed a 3-year, $75 million contract extension before the 2024 season, a deal that is set to pay him $14 million in 2026 and $22 million in each of 2027 and 2028. All of the guaranteed money in the contract will be paid after the 2027 season, keeping his financial future tied to the same timeline as any possible change in the Eagles’ passing game.
There is also a broader line in Smith’s career that helps explain why his response landed the way it did. He is one of only 5 people to win a college football national championship, the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl, a rare combination that already places him in unusual company. For now, though, Smith is not looking past the simplest part of his job description, even as the question around Brown keeps hanging in the air.