Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is happy the team can move forward after it dealt disgruntled wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots.
"I think this is more of a - it sounds terrible - but like, thank God it's over," Mailata said at OTAs Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Zach Berman. "It was a slow pain of just, is he in, is he out?
"We didn't really know, and that really wasn't our focus as a team, our team, especially on offense. But we got to keep these wheels moving, we got new guys coming in, we got rookies coming in again, we got to build that culture every year."
The Eagles acquired a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection in exchange for Brown. The deal had reportedly been in the works since late April, but Philly wanted to wait until June 1 to spread Brown's $43-million dead cap charge over 2026 and 2027.
"I think most of us that have been here the last six weeks, we have moved on, just from, we have enough to worry about," Mailata added. "Getting over last year, and then coming in here and learning a new scheme and new concepts, like we had to press on. So that's what we were doing."
Brown earned three second-team All-Pro nominations during his four-year tenure with the Eagles. He recorded over 5,000 yards receiving in 62 regular-season games and helped Philly hoist the Lombardi Trophy in the 2024 campaign with a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the relationship between Brown and the organization took a turn last season. The 28-year-old publicly aired his frustrations with the offense on a Twitch stream and made multiple cryptic social media posts throughout the year. Owner Jeffrey Lurie reportedly met with Brown on the practice field in November to try to hash things out, and the wideout told the owner he would keep his grievances internal.
Philadelphia is moving forward with a new-look offense that includes first-round wide receiver Makai Lemon and offseason additions Marquise Brown and Dontayvion Wicks. The club also hired new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion after firing Kevin Patullo.
"If I were to lock the three smartest people in the facility in one room, Sean (Mannion) would be there, and I think Sean will just be himself. It would just be Sean," Mailata said Tuesday. "He's a wizard. And I'm super excited, as the year goes on, we get to display what is in the beautiful mind of his."
Mailata, 29, has started 85 games during his career in Philly and earned a second-team All-Pro nomination in 2024.
