New England Patriots
“If he ends up being on our team, great. What a great player. And if he doesn’t, we’ve still got to work these guys here.”
A.J. Brown has been repeatedly linked to the Patriots. AP Photo/Caroline Brehman
FOXBOROUGH — It’s getting tougher and tougher to ignore the smoke between the Patriots and Eagles and the potential of a blockbuster trade involving star receiver A.J. Brown.
Several reports — including from longtime ESPN insider Adam Schefter — have noted that a trade involving Brown and the Patriots is seemingly a done deal, with both New England and Philly waiting to complete the potential handshake agreement after June 1.
June 1 remains a key date in terms of any potential trade, as Brown’s salary cap charge will be spread out between 2026 and 2027 after that date.
If Philly dealt Brown before June 1, they’d be on the hook for a $43.3 million dead cap hit. If they trade him after June, that dead cap hit drops down to $16.3 million — a more palatable take for an Eagles team still fixed in a win-now window.
While Brown remains on the Eagles’ roster as of Wednesday, several Patriots players have been candid when asked about the various trade rumors that have linked New England to the former All-Pro wideout and Super Bowl champion.
Milton Williams — who won said Super Bowl alongside Brown with the Eagles in February 2025 — was asked if he’s had any sway over getting his former teammate over to Foxborough.
“You see the noise, and you see it,” Williams said. “[He’s a] hell of a player. He can definitely help our team. But they don’t pay me to do that.”
During the three seasons that saw Williams playing alongside Brown in Philadelphia, the now-28-year-old receiver was one of the most productive pass-catchers in the league — averaging 94 catches per season with an average of 1,458 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
Even during a seemingly down year for Brown and the Eagles’ offense in 2026, Brown still recorded 1,003 receiving yards and seven touchdowns off of 78 catches.
“Great dude,” Williams said of Brown. “Monster on the field, great in the locker room, holding guys accountable and holding himself accountable. That’s everything you want in a player of his caliber.”
Adding a receiver with Brown’s resume — including six seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards — would be a welcome sight for Drake Maye and a Patriots offense looking to move past last postseason’s regression.
While Maye acknowledged that nothing is set in stone regarding a potential blockbuster deal, the 23-year-old QB noted that the trade rumors have been tough to ignore at this point during the offseason.
“I think it’s part of the NFL,” Maye said of trade whispers. “They throw names around there around every team, depending on whoever looks best on the graphic in the jersey on social media. So I’m really just focused — we’ve got some new guys in here that we’re working with.
“I know there’s a lot of talk [regarding Brown], but if he ends up being on our team, great. What a great player. And if he doesn’t, we’ve still got to work these guys here. So it’s a balance, but I know he’s a phenomenal player.”
Maye and Williams are far from the only Patriots players to have addressed Brown’s potential trade to New England over the last few weeks.
Veteran safety Kevin Byard — who played alongside Brown in Tennessee before the wideout was dealt to Philly — praised the star talent earlier this month.
“He was unstoppable,” Byard said of Brown’s tenure with the Titans. “Obviously, A.J. is very talented still, but this was young A.J. with a lot to prove. He couldn’t be covered in one-on-ones. … I remember the first game he really popped out was against the Falcons in Atlanta, and he scored two touchdowns.”
“I can recall he caught a slant and took it to the house. At that point, I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be a dog. He’s going to be a really good player,’ and he just took off from there.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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