March 2, 2026, 6:28 a.m. ET

The New England Patriots are reportedly interested in trading for wide receiver A.J. Brown.A potential reunion could pair Brown with his former head coach, Mike Vrabel, and star receiver Stefon Diggs.Acquiring Brown could involve restructuring Stefon Diggs’s contract or releasing him to create cap space.Despite trade rumors, the Philadelphia Eagles have publicly stated that Brown is not on the trade block.

The news surrounding a potential A.J. Brown trade likely won’t dissipate until the deadline this coming November, but there’s no doubt that his former head coach would love to reunite. According to a recent report from MassLive’s Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian, there’s internal interest in trading for A.J. Brown and pairing the All-Pro with star wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

According to Daniels and Guregian’s report, if Diggs is willing to restructure his contract, there’s a scenario in which the Patriots could have both receivers on the roster.

The receiver hasn’t been happy in Philadelphia and is a fan of Vrabel. That relationship goes both ways. There are concerns, however, about Brown’s knees. He had surgery on both knees in 2021 and sustained another knee injury during the 2023 season. But even with those issues, the veteran has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past four seasons.

Of course, if the Patriots move on from Diggs, trading for Brown is an easy way to give Drake Maye another top-flight option.

The free agent market isn’t great, and people around the league don’t expect Alec Pierce to leave Indianapolis. Veteran Mike Evans doesn’t seem to be a Patriots target at this moment due to health concerns.

The 33-year-old Diggs has a $26.5 million cap hit this season, after leading the Patriots with 85 receptions and 1,013 receiving yards. New England would free up $16.8 million on the cap if the team releases Diggs. They save up to $20.8 million if they cut Diggs with a post-June 1 designation.

Diggs has $6 million in guarantees due on March 13, but the Patriots would reportedly prefer to restructure his deal. As far as Brown goes, the Eagles have said everything right about the All-Pro wide receiver not being on the trade block.

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Brown has earned All-Pro honors, Pro Bowl honors, 1,400+ yards twice, and amassed 5,000+ yards receiving since joining the Eagles. Brown has been the subject of trade rumors, and that’ll need to be addressed.

 According to Over The Cap, if Brown gets traded before June 1, the Eagles would incur a dead cap charge of $43,515,106. If he remains on the roster in 2026, Brown would count for 23,393,497 against the salary cap. If he’s traded after June 1, the dead cap hit would be $43,515,106, with $27,161,609 counting towards 2027’s cap as well.