{"id":851165,"date":"2026-04-03T11:51:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851165\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:51:49","slug":"patriots-benefit-from-latest-a-j-brown-trade-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851165\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Benefit from Latest A.J. Brown Trade Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/a> may have found their new star receiver, after all. <\/p>\n

Since mid-February, the Pats<\/a> and the Philadelphia Eagles have been embroiled in trade rumors surrounding a potential deal for three-time second-team All Pro receiver A.J. Brown. While such speculation has yet to materialize, one major sports outlet is reporting that Brown\u2019s arrival in New England appears to be a forgone conclusion \u2014 at least, according to some of the NFL\u2019s top administrators. <\/p>\n

Per a recent report from The Athletic<\/a>, several league executives expect the Eagles to trade Brown to the Patriots after June 1.<\/p>\n

“Execs expect the Patriots to acquire receiver A.J. Brown from Philadelphia in June, once the salary-cap implications become more tenable for the Eagles,” wrote The Athletic\u2019s Mike Sando. “It seems just a matter of waiting until June 1 passes for Philly to trade A.J. Brown, who in my opinion is a declining player each of the last three seasons,” per a NFL executive speaking to Sando on the condition of anonymity. <\/p>\n

Adding a player of Brown\u2019s ability would help to transform the Patriots<\/a> passing offense, while providing quarterback Drake Maye with the type of deep, big-play weapon to instill fear in opposing defenses for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

As expected, New England\u2019s interest in Brown\u2019s services remains high. The three-time All-Pro has topped 1,000 receiving yards in six of his seven NFL seasons. The Super Bowl LIX champion finished the 2025 season with 78 receptions for 1,003 yards. Given his impressive on-field resume, Brown has builds a deserved reputation as one of the league\u2019s top outside receivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that regard, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is wisely being protective with the thought of parting with his team\u2019s most potent offensive weapon. In fact, recent reports indicate that the Pats<\/a>may be the only serious remaining suitors for Brown\u2019s services. Still, recent remarks from Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni indicate that a trade does not appear to be imminent.<\/p>\n

If the Eagles were to trade Brown before June 1, they would take a $43.4 million dead cap hit \u2014 what most pundits consider to be an unacceptable price to pay for dealing Brown before this month\u2019s draft. Should the Eagles wait to deal the three-time Pro Bowler until after June 1, their dead cap hit would drop to a more palatable $16.35 million.\u00a0The Patriots, on the other hand, have\u00a0$35.4 million in cap space\u00a0<\/a>available, and could easily\u00a0accommodate the $23.4 million<\/a>\u00a0cap hit they would take by acquiring Brown.<\/p>\n

Of course, New England would not only be surrendering financial capital to add Brown to their stable of pass-catchers. Philadelphia\u2019s reported asking price for their prime offensive asset includes multiple draft picks, centered around a first-rounder. Should the Pats and Eagles choose to make a deal in early June, the compensation package would mostly consist of 2027 selections \u2014 a draft considered to be rich in talent at several key positions.<\/p>\n

Might A.J. Brown be Coming \u2018Home\u2019 to Rejuvenate in New England?\"Tennessee<\/p>\n

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel congratulates wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) on his touchdown during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 in Indianapolis, Ind.<\/p>\n

Titans Colts 063 | George Walker IV \/ Tennessean.com \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

While The Athletic\u2019s report warns of Brown\u2019s perceived decline over the past few seasons, a change of scenery may be exactly what the metaphorical doctor ordered. For Brown, joining the Patriots would be a pseudo-homecoming, of sorts. In addition to growing up a Patriots fan, he also played under head coach Mike Vrabel for three seasons with the Tennessee Titans. During those years, Brown caught 185 passes for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns. <\/p>\n

As for\u00a0New England<\/a>, their interest in Brown appears to be mutual. The Ole Miss product immediately becomes the Pats\u2019 primary outside receiver, even with Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins having contributed solid seasons. He also has the chance to become the most prolific outside threat the Patriots have employed since Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss. <\/p>\n

Though former Patriot Stefon Diggs compiled 1,013 receiving yards in 2025 \u2014 becoming the first Patriot to do so since 2019 \u2014 he operated primarily from the underneath, as opposed to Brown\u2019s area of expertise along the perimeter.<\/p>\n

Given Diggs\u2019 release, Brown would join Boutte, Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Elton Chism III, Kyle Williams, John Jiles, Jeremiah Webb and the newly-acquired Romeo Doubs on the Pats’ depth chart. <\/p>\n

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New England Patriots may have found their new star receiver, after all. Since mid-February, the Pats and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,7,6,242,109,2476],"class_list":{"0":"post-851165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","13":"tag-philadelphiaeagles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116340641583459984","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}