New England Patriots
Experts widely view June 1 as the date to mark on one’s calendar regarding the A.J. Brown saga.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown’s connection to Mike Vrabel makes a Patriots trade plausible. AP Photo/Terrance Williams
Patriots offseason workouts begin next month, but their roster still feels incomplete.
A possible A.J. Brown trade with the Philadelphia Eagles continues to loom over the reigning AFC champions.
New England has been linked to the star wide receiver as a likely landing spot dating back to last year if the Eagles were to part ways with him.
Several NFL executives reportedly ‘expect’ the Patriots to land Brown amongst a likely competitive field of interested organizations.
“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,” according to The Athletic’s 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,” one executive told Sando.
New England has kept its rumored heavy interest in Brown hush-hush when speaking with the media. For example, head coach Mike Vrabel fielded questions about Brown at this past week’s NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, but offered a vague response.
“We’ve talked about this since last January. We’re gonna try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster, through the draft, through free agency, multiple ways of player acquisition,” Vrabel said of Brown. “So, anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we’re going to try to do.”
If the Patriots indeed strike a deal with the Eagles for Brown, it seemingly won’t officially happen until June 1 at the earliest. If Philadelphia trades Brown after June 1, the player’s dead cap hit would fall to $16.4 million from a whopping pre-June 1 $43 million.
For a player of Brown’s caliber, and given New England’s unpolished WR corps, the Patriots appear happy to continue playing the waiting game.
Brown, 28, is a three-time Pro Bowler with six 1,000-yard seasons under his belt as a seven-year NFL veteran. The wideout boasts that big-play gene every successful team requires.
The Eagles have reportedly sought a first-round draft pick in exchange for Brown, and perhaps more, such as a second- or third-rounder.
There’s still a possibility that New England backs out of trade discussions if Philadelphia’s asking price doesn’t budge. While the teams have consistently been linked in rumors surrounding Brown, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last week that there is no “under-the-table” deal in place between the organizations.
The Patriots pounced on signing free agent WR Romeo Doubs last month, inking the player to a four-year, $68 million deal. However, the position room, particularly the WR1 spot, still feels incomplete following Stefon Diggs’s release.
New England’s executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf didn’t rule out a reunion with Diggs, though. Wolf stated this multiple times last month.
“Yeah, I never like to rule anything out,” Wolf said of Diggs on March 30. “There’s always different scenarios that come up, whether you have an injury or a scheme shift, or whatever the case may be, so, don’t wanna close the door on anything.”
“I wouldn’t say the door is closed,” Wolf said on March 12. “I mean, again, we’re going to look through every way we possibly can to help the team.”
Whether it’s signing Diggs, acquiring Brown, or drafting a WR later this month, a WR addition feels inevitable heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
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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