The Eagles are assessing A.J. Brown’s trade market. Just don’t expect Howie Roseman to give him away.

INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Vrabel’s recent comments about A.J. Brown may not qualify as tampering, but they are reflective of a certain preoccupation those associated with the Eagles have had with the wide receiver’s future at the scouting combine this week.

And, to some degree, the rest of the league shares that preoccupation — elite receivers still in the prime of their careers are rarely available.

Vrabel didn’t bring up Brown all on his own. The Patriots coach was first asked about his relationship with his former player during a news conference on Wednesday, and then about possibly trading for him during an interview session with New England-area reporters shortly afterward.

“I think that we’ll look at everything that we can possibly look at to add to our roster,” Vrabel said in answering the second question. “There’s a lot of back-and-forth. Taking on compensation. And so, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of opportunities for us to talk about trades, not only this week, but as we prepare and get closer to the draft.”

It was a rather innocuous response, and Vrabel made sure not to mention Brown by name as that could be considered tampering with a player under contract with another team. But the former Titans coach, who drafted the receiver in 2019 and coached him for three seasons, didn’t avoid going into detail about how close he remains to Brown.

“I think the relationship with players — and specifically you asked about A.J. — has meant a lot,” Vrabel said earlier from the combine media center podium. “I watched him grow. I watched him mature. I’m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I’m proud of the husband. And that has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played.

“So those are the things that are important. We reach out, text each other during the things that happen good to each other. And sometimes things don’t go so well for the people that you’re close with and you text those, as well. So, it’s been a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us to where we are here today.”

There’s little wrong with what Vrabel said as it’s been consistent with his comments about Brown since the Titans traded him to Philly almost four years ago. Just last January, after he was hired in New England and as the Eagles were in the middle of their Super Bowl run, Vrabel said the following about Brown on Boston radio:

“I love him to death and I have a very, very close relationship with him.”

A lot has changed around Brown’s Eagles and Vrabel’s Patriots a year later. And with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman unwilling to shut the door on Brown being obtainable for the right price, Vrabel’s openness about his communication with the 28-year old could be characterized as flirtatious.

Not that Roseman should take any issue with his remarks, as they could potentially help spur activity and give the GM the type of leverage he would need to receive compensation for an All-Pro-caliber receiver whose exit would leave a giant hole on offense and trigger significant salary cap repercussions.

And that is why a decision on Brown will seemingly be made sooner — as in the next 10 days ahead of the official start of the “legal tampering” period on March 9 — rather than later. At least that’s the sense sources close to several Eagles with uncertain futures have gotten from their conversations with the team this week.

Roseman should be compelled to make a decision in the immediate future. Moving or keeping Brown impacts almost every other personnel decision he will make this offseason in terms of free agency, contract extensions and the draft. It’s not an imperative, but waiting would make putting the roster puzzle together more difficult.

Roseman’s messaging has been consistent since the end of the season.

“It’s really hard to find great players,” Roseman said last week to Eagles beat reporters. “I think A.J. is a great player. I think that, from my perspective, we’re looking to improve in all areas, and you don’t do that by subtracting.”

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni tweaked his initial response to questions about Brown after he said he couldn’t “guarantee” the receiver’s return — based on the notion that nothing in life is guaranteed — during his media rounds at the combine on Tuesday. Sirianni avoided the phrasing and said he expects and wants Brown back.

But Roseman will make the final call and he will be the one entertaining offers. And that’s exactly what he has made obvious to interested teams every time he’s been asked about Brown: We’re open for business. Give us your best shot.

“I think you go into the league year listening to offers for everything and anything,” Roseman said last week. “I don’t think that you can go into any conversation with anyone and just shoot things down without hearing what they have to say, because you never know.”

What Roseman is doing here is creating momentum and building a market that would draw in competing offers. All he needs is two interested teams to create leverage. Three teams could get him closer to the finish line, depending upon the actual value he has assigned to Brown.

Roseman’s tactics are renowned. He’ll set the cost much higher than prevailing wisdom says it should be. One NFL executive said he heard the Eagles were seeking a return that included both a first- and second-round draft pick. Whether accurate or not, it’s a price tag already being floated within league circles.

Teams will check in, some with more interest than others, but Roseman will be able to get a sense of who is serious by their initial offers. He’ll then whittle down their counter arguments until he grinds out what he views as suitable compensation.

If he doesn’t get that compensation, he won’t trade Brown, even if the receiver has told the Eagles he wants out of Philly. The cap hit — about $45 million — is just too steep. And even if the two teams have a handshake deal to wait until June 1, so the Eagles can spread the charge over two years, Roseman probably won’t take anything less than a conditional second-rounder.

Brown may seem to be on the decline. He may have a chronic knee condition that hurt his stock as far back as the pre-draft process. He might be emotional and the occasional headache. But he’s still better than most receivers, and seemingly anyone who will be available in free agency.

The draft is another animal. But teams like the Patriots, Bills, and Ravens might be only a Brown away from getting over the championship hump. All three teams have picks in each of the first two rounds. The Patriots have Nos. 31 and 63, the Bills have Nos. 26 and 60, and the Ravens have Nos. 14 and 45.

The Eagles have eight projected picks with one first-rounder (No. 23), one second-rounder (No. 54), and two third-rounders (No. 68 and a No. 98 projected). It’s possible Roseman would accept a 2027 first-rounder in return for Brown.

But it seems inconceivable that the Eagles would take anything less than what the Seahawks got for receiver DK Metcalf last offseason — essentially a second-rounder — or the Bills got for receiver Stefon Diggs — essentially second- and fifth-rounders — two offseasons ago.

A trade partner would have to be willing to take on the remaining amount of the three-year, $92 million extension Brown signed two offseasons ago — at about $25 million per over the next two seasons. But that isn’t a backbreaking commitment for a player who turns 29 in June.

The Patriots have a need at the position, even if Diggs reached 1,000 yards receiving in his first season in New England. It was clear in Super Bowl LX that quarterback Drake Maye, despite his deficiencies, was lacking a true No. 1 target.

Brown was rooting for the Patriots, having been a fan since he was young. He went on the Dudes on Dudes podcast hosted by former Patriots Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski before the title game and spoke about his affinity for the team and for Vrabel, the coach he said he didn’t initially like in Tennessee.

The Patriots, of course, would go on to lose to the Seahawks. The podcast did not air until Feb. 18, however, so Brown’s chumminess with an enemy team might have come off as brash to some Eagles fans. Edelman ended the show by saying, “Just remember, we’re all Patriots. You know that, right?”

Brown winked, as if to suggest that he would become a Patriot, but quickly rebounded and said, “No, no, no. I’m trolling.”

The constant media attention on a potential Brown trade may seem like trolling to Eagles fans reluctant to see the star receiver leave after four dominant seasons. But the prospects are real. Whether it happens or not, the answer could come in a matter of days.