June used to be a slow news month across the NFL.

June was when, after a weekend or two of OTA practices and a mandatory minicamp, general managers, coaching staffs, players, drawn by the smell of jet fumes at the airports down the road from their facilities, took off to paradises unknown to wind down, recharge their batteries, and take a breath before the marathon season that begins with training camp and the months ahead.

As this week reminded us, heavy emphasis on used to be.

Thanks to how their contracts were structured, Myles Garrett and A.J. Brown were the centerpieces of blockbuster trades this week (we’ll break down both of those moves in expansive detail in Monday’s forthcoming 4 Downs column), Drake London became the third-highest-paid wide receiver in the sport, and those practices forged on in buildings across the country.

As one of the bus stop Dads loves to tell me, there really is never a dull moment in the NFL.

Inside this week’s Football Friday Mailbag, we tackle your questions on why teams are so much more willing to pull off blockbuster trades and move off the biggest stars on their roster, what folks in Philadelphia should expect from Sean Mannion’s offense amid mounting pressure on everyone involved in the Eagles, whether scouts believe the 49ers did enough to revamp their receiving corps, and more!

Let’s get after it!

I’m not sure I can remember a situation where there was more pressure on everyone involved; from head coach Nick Sirianni, to quarterback Jalen Hurts, to Mannion, than the crucible that’s building in South Philadelphia ahead of this season.

General manager Howie Roseman and Sirianni didn’t just overhaul the receivers room by trading away A.J. Brown and removing an alpha presence in favor of what they hope to be quality depth of versatile skills and target share, but are installing an offense built around quick strikes over the middle, an area of the field Hurts is extremely reluctant to try to exploit, with that foundation of YAC over Air Yards a likely chief principle.

Historically, Hurts has ranked near the bottom of the league in passing attempts between the numbers (10–19 yards downfield)—frequently accounting for less than 11% of his total throws.

Just watch the Packers last season, and how often Jordan Love hit tight end Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, or Wicks over the middle for a preview of what the Eagles will likely ask Hurts to do this season.

Roseman, Sirianni, and the Eagles are hoping that by hacking off a branch of Matt LaFleur’s coaching tree, Philadelphia will be importing a scheme that ranked third in yards per passing attempt last season and finished fourth in the NFL in Yards Per Drive.

Former Packers fullback John Kuhn has had a front row seat for Mannion's offense, in his role as the sideline reporter for Green Bay's radio broadcasts, and thinks Philadelphia could be the ultimate proving ground and launchpad for the rest of Mannion's career.

"I like Sean a lot," Kuhn tells Between The Hashmarks. "I think that jumping straight into coaching after a nine-year career playing quarterback gives him a unique perspective and way of seeing the game and his players that other coaches may not be able to do as effortlessly.

"If you can move the needle in a tough market like Philly, I think anything is possible. They have all the tools offensively to be creative and dynamic, so I am very interested to see how he does there, and obviously will be rooting for him."

If there’s another regression in Philly, be it because the offensive line continues a backslide that began last season and became one of the Eagles’ undoings, or the gamble that Dontayvion Wicks, Elijah Moore, Hollywood Brown, and Darius Cooper are enough behind DeVonta Smith and rookie Makai Lemon, who has been frequently compared to Jaxon Smith-Njigba by folks inside the league, goes bust, it isn’t a stretch to think Sirianni’s days are numbered and Hurts may too be on the way out.

However, if Roseman and Sirianni are right. If offloading Brown’s outsized personality, and building an offense that doesn’t force-feed its top receiver winds up freeing Hurts up to make more big plays and dictate to opposing defenses, it almost goes without saying that Mannion will be among the most sought-after candidates next hiring cycle.

After all, this is an offense-driving league that has seen Klint Kubiak hired by the Raiders after resurrecting Sam Darnold’s career and winning the Super Bowl in one season, Kellen Moore land as the Saints head coach one year removed from helping guide Hurts into the MVP conversation before putting on a Super Bowl ring.

You can even draw a threadline through the Carolina Panthers hiring Dave Canales a year after overseeing Baker Mayfield’s career renaissance, and the Jaguars prying Liam Coen from the Buccaneers after Mayfield proved he wasn’t just a one-year wonder in Tampa’s scheme.

The point here, is that in a league where no position matters more than quarterback, if Mannion can propel Hurts to the kind of season Philadelphia is banking everything on him having, in a system that many are healthily skeptical he is built to operate at the highest level, teams are going to be lining up to hand Mannion the keys to both their entire operation and the development of whatever young quarterback they’re building it around.

This week has certainly been a reminder that the days of an NFL where trades are a rarity are fading into the recesses of our memories.

Whether it was the Green Bay Packers shipping two first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons last August, the Indianapolis Colts sending two firsts to the New York Jets for Sauce Gardner, or this week Les Snead and the Rams once again throwing all their picks in to acquire Myles Garrett and the Eagles netting a future first and third-round pick for A.J. Brown, suddenly the NFL is more closely resembling the NBA trade deadline at just about any juncture on the calendar.

It isn’t just the sheer number of trades — there were six deals at last fall’s trade deadline and eight were made leading up to the trade deadline in 2024. Then, there are the aforementioned Garrett, Brown, and Parsons blockbusters that stole the headlines and sent ripples across the league, but also the caliber of players who have been unloaded for future draft capital has become more significant as well.

Back in 2024, All-Pro wide receivers Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, and Amari Cooper were each dealt, so too, were high quality defensive starters like Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Tre’Davious White, to name a few.

Last fall, Quinnen Williams, Jaelan Phillips, and Seahawks postseason hero Rashid Shaheed were all involved in blockbuster deals.

Some of the trades were far more expected than others, though.

“Honestly, we knew the A.J. Brown trade was coming for a very long time,” a veteran agent tells Between The Hashmarks, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. “The issue was just the compensation involved. I think for the Myles Garrett trade, Cleveland understands they are in rebuild mode, and it is probably a better fit for them to get an ascending player that can help in the future versus winning now, which was not likely.”