FOXBORO — A.J. Brown is not a member of the Patriots quite yet, but he was a popular topic on Tuesday when two veteran free-agent additions spoke in New Balance Athletics Center.

If the Patriots do acquire Brown via trade from the Eagles, a deal likely won’t get done until after June 1, since Philadelphia can spread the wide receiver’s dead cap over two years after that date.

Safety Kevin Byard, who signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this offseason, played with Brown on the Titans. He said he hadn’t talked to Brown about coming to the Patriots despite the fact that they train together in Tennessee.

“No, honestly, I try to stay out of that part of the business, because when you talk about contracts or players moving teams and things like that, I want to be as hands-off as possible,” Byard said. “We train together in Tennessee, so it’s not like I haven’t — ‘Hey, A.J. what’s,’ you know what I mean? So, but no, we obviously haven’t talked about it directly. Don’t know what’s the situation there. I hope it can work out.

“I hope he can come here and play for us, but that remains to be seen. … But if we’re able to get A.J., obviously, he’s an incredible talent, somebody I played with. He’s a true No. 1 receiver in this league, so that’d be awesome to pair up with him again.”

Wide receiver Romeo Doubs would also welcome Doubs to the team.

Doubs signed a four-year, $68 million contract with the Patriots this offseason and is currently slotted in as the team’s top receiver.

“I have a ton of respect for him,” Doubs said. “He’s been a dude in this league for quite a long time. I understand that when he first got in the league, Coach (Mike) Vrabel was his coach. So again, I understand there’s a lot of rumors going around, like, if he’s here, I’d love to have him here, and if he isn’t here, I’m still going to wish him the best, because he’s one of the guys in this league.

Doubs said he wouldn’t mind if Brown impacted his standing on the Patriots’ depth chart. Doubs would still be a starter if Brown was acquired, but it could mean less targets for the former Packers pass-catcher.

“I was true to my word when I came here that there is no No. 1 guy in this offense,” Doubs said. “So whatever it is I have to do, whether if it’s playing into the strength more or playing on the backside every here and now, or even having to play on (special) teams, which I’m really familiar with because I’ve done it in Green Bay also, I’m open to all roles. That’s just part of this league. The more you can do, the more you can do for the team, the more you show for yourself, just things of that nature.”

Byard played with Brown from 2019 to 2021, after which Brown was traded to the Eagles.

Brown is a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has produced six 1,000-yard campaigns in seven seasons.

“He was unstoppable,” Byard said of Brown’s time in Tennessee. “Obviously, A.J. is very talented still, but this is young A.J., a lot to prove. Couldn’t be covered in 1-on-1s. I remember, I think, his rookie year, when A.J. first came, I think he might have had like a hammy or something like that, and he was getting himself back into shape and things like that. But I remember the first game that he really popped out was against the Falcons in Atlanta. He scored two touchdowns, and I remember he caught, like, a slant, took it to the house, and at that point I was like, ‘He’s going to be a dawg. He’s going to be a really good player.’ And he basically just took off since then.”

Brown would give the Patriots’ offense a significant boost if they can get a deal done with the Eagles. Now we wait 20 more days.