PHILADELPHIA − It would seem like the Eagles have their top two wide receivers for the next several years after signing DeVonta Smith to a three-year contract extension that begins in 2026 and goes through 2028.

The deal is reportedly worth $75 million, with $51 guaranteed, and it takes effect after the Eagles picked up Smith's fifth-year option for 2025 worth $15.6 million, essentially making it a four-year deal worth as much as $90 million.

AJ Brown, meanwhile, is under contract through 2026 after signing a four-year deal worth as much as $100 million when the Eagles traded for him during the NFL draft in 2022.

Together, Brown and Smith have set numerous franchise records. Brown's 1,496 yards receiving in 2022 are the most in team history for a single season. Brown came 40 yards short of matching that last season. Brown and Smith became the first duo in team history to each eclipse 1,000 yards when they did it in 2022. They did it again last season as Brown had 1,196 yards in 2022 and 1,066 yards last season.

And as Smith put it Tuesday, he and Brown are close friends and "two guys who want to be the alpha."

"There’s never a time when we’re sitting up there where we’re mad at each other, or mad at anyone about not getting targets," Smith said. "You have a lot of guys that when that time comes, they’ll shy away from the moment. If you have a guy like (Brown) or a guy like me, we’re never going to shy away from the moment."

Yet it's quite possible that Smith's contract means that the Eagles made a choice about their long-term future at wide receiver, and that it very well might not include Brown beyond this season.

Sure, it sounds ludicrous.

But we'll get a better idea beginning next Thursday in the NFL draft. Let's put it this way: If the Eagles are drafting a wide receiver with any of their three picks in the first two rounds, we'll know that they're planning on the possibility of not having Brown in 2026, if not 2025.

Reason No. 1: The money

Brown is signed through 2026, but in 2025, his salary cap hit is $26.5 million. That's still affordable for the Eagles considering that Smith will be in his fifth-year option and quarterback Jalen Hurts' salary cap hit is $21.7 million. Remember, Hurts is in the midst of a five-year contract worth as much as $255 million.

The Eagles can save $11 million on the 2025 salary cap by trading Brown, according to overthecap.com.

Brown, however, will be too expensive in 2026, when his salary-cap hit goes up to $41.5 million. That season is the start of Smith's three-year extension, and Hurts' salary-cap hit that season is $31.8 million. In addition, left tackle Jordan Mailata's three-year extension worth as much as $66 million begins in 2026, and the Eagles will be in the second season of Landon Dickerson's four-year extension worth up to $84 million.

Plus, the Eagles will have to start thinking about second contracts for Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Cam Jurgens.

Even with the salary cap expected to continue rising, the Eagles can't afford everyone. Brown will be 29 in 2026, and if he's already making an average annual salary of $25 million, he won't want less.

Reason No. 2: The Haason Reddick example

The Eagles might not want to commit $30 million or more as Brown ages into his 30s. They showed that just a few weeks ago when they traded edge rusher Haason Reddick to the Jets. Reddick had 16 sacks in 2022 and 11 last season, leading the Eagles each season.

But the 29-year-old counted a team-high $21.9 million on the salary cap entering the final year of his contract. Rather than give Reddick an extension in the $25 million per year range, the Eagles traded him to the Jets for a third-round pick in 2026 that can become a second-round pick.

The Eagles did this after signing edge rusher Bryce Huff, who turns 26 on Wednesday, to a three-year deal worth $51.1 million. The Eagles could have kept both players, but they clearly didn't want to keep paying Reddick a huge contract into his 30s.

"Through the conversations with the Jets, we felt like it was a win-win situation‚" Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said about trading Reddick. "But it’s always hard to get rid of players and people like Haason."

Reason No. 3: The drafted wide receiver

Let's go back to a recent Eagles strategy of drafting players to learn behind top players.

They did this with Davis in 2022, when he learned from Fletcher Cox. They also did it the same year with Cam Jurgens, who learned behind Jason Kelce before moving to right guard last season. Now he's replacing Kelce, and Davis and Carter are replacing Cox.

This year, if the Eagles draft a receiver early, he could serve as the No. 3 receiver this year, and maybe even next year, and then become a tandem with Smith.

This was something both head coach Nick Sirianni and Roseman mentioned when asked about possibly drafting right tackle Lane Johnson's successor. Johnson's contract expires in 2026, when he will be 36 years old.

"How do we teach players things that we want them to learn in football?" Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "We let them study the greats ... Cam had that for the last two years (with Kelce), and Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter were able to sit there with Fletch and pick his brain. What an unbelievable opportunity that may not show itself right in the immediate future, but it's going to show itself later down the line."

Then Roseman interjected, without prompting: "And any of your own receivers get to learn from freaking AJ and DeVonta, which is freaking special too."

So don't be surprised if the Eagles are looking to the future, not only with Smith's contract extension, but with a possible successor for Brown − even after the two best seasons for a wide receiver in Eagles' history.

"It means a lot to be able to go out here and be able to continue to do it with him and everyone else who’s in this building," Smith said.

For now, anyway.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Is AJ Brown's Eagles future in question after DeVonta Smith contract?