New England Patriots
“That wink is all just fun and games.”
Wide receiver A.J. Brown has recently been a rumored Patriots trade candidate. AP Photo/Terrance Williams
February 21, 2026 | 7:20 AM
3 minutes to read
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What would it take for the Patriots to land AJ Brown? ESPN analyst cooked up a hypothetical trade.
The AFC champion Patriots experienced unprecedented success when they reached Super Bowl LX this past season, but the team may look different in 2026-27.
New England’s receiving corps could be one area that changes.
The Patriots could opt out of the second year of wide receiver Stefon Diggs’s contract, freeing up to $16.8 million in cap space. That would leave New England with a glaring need at the position; even if Diggs remained with the Patriots, the organization could still look to improve at WR.
Enter Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown, who has been connected to New England as a potential trade target.
In a recent episode of former Patriots Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski’s “Dudes On Dudes” podcast, Brown winked when Edelman asked the following:
Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski asked AJ Brown some hard hitting questions regarding the #Patriots 👀
Edelman: “Just remember, we’re all Patriots. You know that right?”
Brown: “😉”
Gronk: “Do you wanna be a Patriot?!”
Brown: “No no no! I’m trolling!”
(🎥 @DudesOnDudesPod) pic.twitter.com/xJwnG7nZtr
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) February 19, 2026
“Just remember, we’re all Patriots. You know that, right?”
Gronkowski asked Brown if he wanted to be a Patriot, and Brown shut the question down with a smile.
“No, no, no! I’m trolling. I’m trolling.”
Brown’s Eagles teammate, running back Saquon Barkley, downplayed the WR’s wink Friday.
“He is a huge Patriots fan. He’s one of those guys,” Barkley said on ESPN’s NFL Live. “He’s always been a big Patriots fan. I think this year, before [a game against the] Dallas [Cowboys], Tom Brady, he was throwing him the ball. So for him, he was like a kid in a candy store. That wink is just all fun and games.”
While Brown may have been trolling, a report from a NFL insider may indicate that there was some truth.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said last month that a Brown-Patriots trade makes sense to him.
“I think he becomes a trade candidate here. There’s been enough noise around that and him wanting out,” Schefter said. “I think it would be a surprise if there weren’t talks if there weren’t talks to see what he could bring back [in a trade].”
Brown reportedly asked to be traded from the Eagles “multiple times” last season, according to Bleeding Green Nation’s Joseph Santoliquito. The 28-year-old receiver is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, in which he caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. He received the fewest first downs (47) since his rookie year (39).
At times last season, Brown was visibly frustrated with his role. Brown and Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni were seen going back and forth on the sideline during the team’s Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Brown also committed two drops in the defeat.
Brown recently admitted that he used to “hate” playing for current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during their time together on the Tennessee Titans. However, it sounds like time has healed those wounds.
“Vrabe is the type of coach that he’s going to call on you in the meetings,” Brown told Edelman and Gronkowski. “He wants to make sure you’re staying engaged and he’s going to go over the keys to victory of the week. You better know them by the back of your hand. I used to write in my notebook because at the time, I really didn’t like Vrabes. I didn’t like him, and I admit that he knows that. So, I used to write, ‘I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes.’ I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged.
“But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie and I really didn’t understand it. So, at the time I told Vrabes like, ‘Hey, like I’m humble already. You don’t got to humble me.’ But I really didn’t understand what he was trying to, you know, push me to be.”
Brown also recalled a time when Vrabel called out his effort. The WR explained why he appreciates that kind of coaching in hindsight.
“When I say he holds every single player accountable from top to bottom, I don’t care who it is, like that’s who he is. And it makes the team come together because nobody is bigger than the team. Nobody is bigger than the program, so you have to respect it.”
Schefter identified the Brown-Vrabel connection as a factor that could propel a deal to get done this offseason.
“To me, I can see him playing in New England next year under Mike Vrabel. Like, that would make a lot of sense to me. So, the Patriots have been on the market for a receiver for quite a while. Mike Vrabel probably rued the day that they ever traded A.J. Brown [with the Titans]. I can see the Patriots rolling the dice on a guy like that. I think his name will come up in trade talks this offseason.”
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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