One week from now, there’s a “very high likelihood” A.J. Brown will be a New England Patriot.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared that encouraging update during Friday’s Early Edition. As we inch closer to the June 1 date that Patriots fans have circled on their calendars, Breer explained that New England’s trade for the star wide receiver is expected to go through barring “someone backing out.”
“My understanding is the framework is in place for a trade to be made early next week that will make A.J. Brown a Patriot,” Breer said. “The exact terms, the details, I still think there are some things to be worked out there. But I think it would sort of take someone backing out at this point, whether it’s the Eagles or the Patriots, for it not to happen.”
Breer’s intel comes one day after NFL insider Josina Anderson’s report that the Patriots and Eagles “have recently grappled over the component of the total trade compensation.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that the two sides were “not particularly close, and there’s a chance this could drag on for the foreseeable future.”
While Breer cautioned that things could change over the next 72 hours, he remains optimistic that the deal will get done.
“One reason why I’ve been careful in the way that I’ve talked about this over the course of the last couple of months is because that June 1 thing, which is the result of the Eagles’ salary cap situation, opens up the possibility that there is a material change with someone else’s receiver situation that makes them jump into the fray and make a better offer than the Patriots would make,” Breer said. “There’s also the chance maybe A.J. Brown gets hurt while he’s training. Weird things can happen.”
Whether Brown is worth a first-round draft pick at this stage of his career is up for debate, but that’s what it’ll likely cost the Patriots to acquire him. A 2028 first-rounder, to be specific.
“One thing the Eagles have been focused on from the very beginning is having a first-round pick involved in the deal,” he said. “I can tell you the centerpiece of a deal with the Rams, had that happened in March, would have been a 2028 first-round pick. That was three drafts off at that point because the ’26 draft hadn’t happened yet.
“So this idea of a first-round pick far off into the future is something the Eagles have discussed with teams over the course of the last few months. If the Patriots will go there, I think it gets done.”
The addition of Brown would finally give the Patriots the No. 1 wideout it has lacked for the last several years. The three-time Pro Bowler has racked up at least 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in all but one of his seven NFL seasons.
Brown rose to stardom upon being drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2019, when Mike Vrabel was the head coach. He joined the Eagles in 2022 and blossomed into one of the NFL’s best receivers.
If the trade goes through, Brown will join a Patriots receiver depth chart that currently includes Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, and Efton Chism III.
