A.J. Brown likely to be traded to Patriots

The New England Patriots wanting A.J. Brown has been the NFL’s worst-kept secret — but now it’s on the verge of actually happening. Adam Schefter reported on Monday morning that it’s now “likely” that Brown will be traded to the Patriots after June 1, which has always been the date to watch when it comes to the Eagles receiver.

The Pats remain one of the few teams with the cap space to take on Brown, while also being a contender where he can reasonably compete for a Super Bowl. Add in the fact that Brown has a prior relationship with head coach Mike Vrabel from their time on the Titans, and this always made the most sense. It would be a home-run move for the Pats, who are in dire need of more deep receiving threats. They stunned the NFL in 2025 by advancing to the Super Bowl, but the lack of offensive weapons (and quality blocking) was their Achilles heel, ensuring that QB Drake Maye never really had a shot.

Meanwhile for the Eagles it means this team can stop pretending that everything is okay. The world saw the blowup between Brown and coach Nick Sirianni last season, which was more of a symptom from pressure that had been building behind the scenes. In back-to-back years Brown has barely cleared 1,000 receiving yards, largely due to how Jalen Hurts plays football. What was once a fantastic union has become a weird fit, with the Eagles’ honeymoon phase flaming out after the Super Bowl as Brown wanted more opportunities to put up numbers and help the Eagles win than he was getting with Hurts under center.

The stakes have been raised with the news that Brown won’t be attending offseason workouts with the Eagles, further cementing that his time in Philadelphia is done.

The big sticking point in trading Brown has been his contract, which is absolutely impossible to trade right now. If the Eagles were to deal Brown before June 1 they would take a $20M dead money cap hit, which the team can’t afford. By waiting until after June 1 they are able to change this into $7M in cap savings. Schefter also reports that getting draft picks in 2026 isn’t a priority for Philadelphia, who would rather have additional selections in 2027 or 2028, both of which are considered around the league to be stronger draft classes.

There is still a chance someone sweeps in with a better offer, but all signs right now point to the Patriots landing Brown for the 2026 season. Now we’ll wait to see if the Eagles turn to drafting a receiving this year, or instead look to make it a priority down the road.