Eagles news: A.J. Brown a no-show as players clean out their lockers; Jalen Hurts on Kevin Patullo's future; final play criticized

Like Nakobe Dean, Jaelan Phillips is hitting free agency for the first time.

Unlike with Dean, the Eagles don’t have a clear answer to slot in for Phillips if he were to depart for another team, making Phillips a much more likely candidate to return to the Eagles.

Phillips made an immediate impact after the Eagles acquired him before the trade deadline from Miami for a third-round pick. He tallied 44 pressures and two sacks in nine games, including Sunday’s playoff game, according to Pro Football Focus, while playing 78% of the defensive snaps. That’s a lot of production to try to replace.

Jalen Hurts is no stranger to change. He has had six different offensive play-callers in his NFL career, including Doug Pederson, Nick Sirianni, Shane Steichen, Brian Johnson, Kellen Moore, and now Kevin Patullo. In the aftermath of Johnson’s 2024 firing, Hurts said that he longed for continuity at the position.

But he acknowledged on Monday that he has embraced the revolving door of offensive coordinators and translated those changes into postseason appearances. After all, the Eagles won a Super Bowl in Moore’s lone year as the offensive coordinator.

“The changes have not prevented us from having an opportunity to go on championship runs, and so with all the changes and with all the things that have gone and have changed over time, we still found ourselves in the playoffs, and we still found ourselves in positions to be in the tournament and play in the tournament,” Hurts said. “I don’t like the trend of wild-card [loss], big-time [Super Bowl appearance], wild-card [loss], big-time [Super Bowl win], and wild-card [loss]. [...] So competitively as a quarterback, as a leader, that’s a big focus of mine, trying to break that.”

Jordan Mailata said he is expecting Lane Johnson, who missed the last eight games with a foot injury, to be back next season. He added, "Whatever happens, happens."

Mailata shed a little light on what Johnson was like behind the scenes the last couple months:

"Ultimate pro. I think what upsets him the most — I don't want to put words in his mouth — but he does everything he can to be available. But it's not even when he's hurt. It's just even when he's starting, his routine is so meticulous. Every minute is planned out, from the moment he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed. And so I think, for him, it irks him a little more, you know?

Rookie safety Drew Mukuba was in the locker room Monday sporting a walking boot on his right foot. Mukuba fractured his fibula near the end of the Eagles’ Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Mukuba said he should be out of the boot soon but did not have a firm timeline on the next steps in his recovery. He’s hoping to be ready for spring workouts, but said “late summer” was also a possibility.

“I’m walking, so I can’t complain,” he said.

Nakobe Dean feels like questions about his durability have been hanging over his head like a “black cloud” since the 2022 NFL draft.

The linebacker out of Georgia, drafted 83rd overall by the Eagles that year, played 39 of a possible 39 college games, but concerns about a pectoral injury he suffered while training helped cause his slide on draft weekend.

“The two injuries didn’t help me, but you got guys going through free agency who didn’t play this year who have had multiple injuries,” Dean said Monday as the Eagles cleaned out their lockers a day after their 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. “It’s just a looming thing over me.”

Immediately following the Eagles’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a somber feeling started to take over The Golf Place. Those gathered at the Bucks County golf simulator facility to watch the Eagles while working on their swings began to pack up and go home, and co-owners Justin Hepler and Killian Lennon began to close up shop.

But in a brief moment, an idea was developed to help Birds fans release their anger after a disappointing loss: letting them hit golf balls at offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s face — or at least an image of it.

Earlier in the season, some fans broke the law by egging Patullo’s Moorestown home after the Eagles’ Black Friday loss to the Bears. The Golf Place’s idea keeps the flying objects far from the real Patullo, and within legal bounds.

The most action wide receiver A.J. Brown saw Sunday night was when the broadcast caught Nick Sirianni yelling at him on the sideline.

The receiver recorded just three receptions for 25 yards; he missed a potentially big first-half reception and had a costly third-down drop later in the game. After the loss, Brown didn’t speak to media.

A pair of former NFL pass catchers — tight end Shannon Sharpe and wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson — believe it’s time for the Eagles to move on.

Where to begin? The Eagles still have a pretty solid roster, but they do have some flaws and are set to have a few holes.

They have no tight ends. They have no obvious answer yet for a Lane Johnson replacement. How long is Landon Dickerson going to hold up? They went heavy at offensive line toward the end of the draft last season, but they could very soon need top-end talent.

They are in the market for wide receiver help regardless of where the A.J. Brown saga leads them. They need edge rushers. They need cornerbacks. They might need a kicker.

The word that the Eagles kept repeating in the locker room after Sunday night's loss was "execution." The players should have executed better all season. "If there are multiple players saying that," Jordan Mailata said, "why don't you believe us?" Here's why ...

All elite athletes think this way: "It doesn’t matter what the coach calls. It doesn’t matter if my opponent knows what’s coming. If I do exactly what I’m supposed to do exactly when I’m supposed to do it, nothing can stop me, and nothing can stop us."

Sounds great.

Speaking on ESPN's Get Up Monday morning, NFL insider Adam Schefter said he expects the Eagles will replace offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo in at attempt to jump start the Birds' lackluster offense.

"I think we start with the assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball," Schefter said. "So you’re looking at a new offense coordinator next year, that’s the expectation there across the league."

"They're going to go through some changes. I think it starts with the coaching staff on the offensive side," Schefter added. "Question is how soon those changes will happen. Is it today or is it tomorrow?"

Despite facing the every team in the NFC West, the Eagles have one of the easiest schedules next season.

The collective winning percentage of the Eagles' 17 2026 opponents in 2025 was 0.481, the tenth-weakest schedule in the NFL next season. The Chicago Bears have the toughest strength of schedule, facing teams with a 0.550 winning percentage.

That's on paper, of course. As the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars showed, a lot can change from one season to the next.

The Eagles and their forward-looking fans will learn tonight where the Birds are picking in the draft order.

If the Steelers beat the Texans, the Eagles will pick 22nd. If the Texans beat the Steelers, the Eagles will pick 23rd (the Texans had a better regular season record than the Eagles).

It remains to be seen what position groups make the most sense for the Eagles to target. Free agency happens before the draft, of course. But the Eagles will be in the market for offensive line help as well as at edge rusher and potentially wide receiver (among others).

Brandon Graham unretired to join the Eagles this season, but don't assume Sunday's disappointing loss was his last game.

According to the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Graham said his 37-year-old body "responded well and he felt he was just getting into a groove down the stretch."

"He turns 38 in April but had the look and sound of a guy that has football left," Garafolo wrote on social media.

Kevin Patullo is as good as done. A.J. Brown’s future is murkier.

But whatever happens to the offensive coordinator and the team’s top receiver, some form of significant change is coming to the Eagles offense after a season of frustration ended fittingly with another bipolar performance on Sunday.

Patullo will be the easiest to cut off, not because he was solely responsible for the regression or even for the substandard play calling that doomed the Eagles in their 23-19 loss to the 49ers in the playoffs, just as it had throughout most of the 2025 regular season.

Lots of Eagles fans are calling on the team to replace offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo with recently-fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. But he may have a better job soon.

McDaniel is scheduled to interview with four teams about their head coaching vacancies, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero – the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, and Baltimore Ravens.

He'll also sit down for an interview with the Detroit Lions about their vacant offensive coordinator position," Pelissero reported.

With one wild-card game left to play – tonight's matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers (8 p.m., ESPN/ABC) – the NFL announced part of next weekend's divisional round playoff schedule.

While we know which teams will play which days, the NFL is waiting to announce the times and networks. Saturday's games will take place at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern, while Sunday's game will happen at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Here's what we know about the divisional round's schedule:

Following their loss to the 49ers, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about a sideline fight he had with wide receiver A.J. Brown highlighted during Fox's broadcast.

“I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt," Sirianni told reporters. "I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him."

"We're both emotional," Sirianni added. "That happens in this game."

In a season where the Eagles' offense left a lot to be desired, the offense's final play of the season is drawing criticism.

Facing fourth down and needing 11 yards, Jalen Hurts failed to connect with a triple-covered A.J. Brown, allowing the 49ers to run out the clock. But a second look at the play – dubbed "4 Verticals" – shows it had little chance to succeed, with receivers simply running down the field and the 49ers covering everyone.

Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters the Eagles called a timeout before the final play and took a picture of how the 49ers defense lined up "to give ourselves some information." Hurts said the 49ers didn't change what they were doing.

Did we just watch Dallas Goedert's final game with the Eagles?

The Birds' tight end, who scored two touchdowns in Sunday night's loss to the San Francisco, is among a handful of players who are set to become free agents.

Here is a list of notable players whose contracts expire following this season: