New England Patriots
“Would I be surprised if it didn’t happen? I think I would be surprised if it didn’t happen,”
AJ Brown AP Photo/Terrance Williams
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Patriots receivers well aware of the A.J. Brown trade rumors
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Patriots WR Kyle Williams feels he’s ready for a ‘night and day’ jump in second NFL season
With June 1 quickly approaching, reports about the Patriots’ interest in landing A.J. Brown continue to surface.
While there is still time for another team to swoop in and make a deal, one NFL insider said he would be surprised if Brown doesn’t end up with the Patriots.
“Would I be surprised if it didn’t happen? I think I would be surprised if it didn’t happen,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said during an appearance on the “Between the Tackles” podcast. “But, I don’t think either side is there yet and I don’t think either side has spoken about it in some time with each other.”
At the beginning of next month, Brown’s $43.5 million dead cap hit can be spread over two years instead of having to be absorbed all at once this year. His dead cap number would be $16.4 million in 2026 and $27.1 million in 2027.
But, just because the cap calculations change on June 1 doesn’t necessarily mean a deal will be reached on that date, Rapoport said.
“To me, this is not the Patriots and Eagles have a secret deal that they’re going to unveil on June 1st.” Rapoport said.”It’s not like that and I don’t even know that one is going to get done June 1st because basically it is to my understanding it’s the Eagles wanting a 2027 first-round pick.”
“You can want what you want, you can hold firm if that’s what you want, but I don’t know that they’e going to get a clean 2027 one,” he added. “The Patriots want to pay less. They would like it to be a two. Now, there’s space in between there where you can say ‘alright we’ll give you a three’, we’ll give you a two, we can get something back. You can make the points work by trading various draft picks.”
There has also been some speculation that Kayshon Boutte could be involved in the deal. The third-year receiver averaged 16.7 yards per catch last season, the most among Patriots receivers with more than ten catches. The former sixth-round pick was third on the team in receiving yards [550] and second in touchdown catches [6].
The Patriots’ receiver room would likely be pretty crowded if they were to add Brown. They signed Romeo Doubs in the offseason and they have plenty of returning players in Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism, among others.
“I’ve heard the speculation and I know that he’s potentially someone that could be traded,” Rapoport said of Boutte. “I would say if the trade needs it, then that would make sense.”
The possibility of a Stefon Diggs return doesn’t seem very likely, Rapoport said. Diggs led the team with 85 catches and 1,013 yards.
“I would never say never, but that would surprise me,” Rapoport said. “He was great last year, they got a lot out of him, he played well, but that would probably surprise me.”
The Patriots are set to begin OTAs in Foxborough next week.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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