New England Patriots
“That would make a lot of sense to me. So, the Patriots have been on the market for a receiver for quite a while.”
The Patriots’ offseason hasn’t arrived yet. When it does, though, they might be searching the market for a wide receiver. If that’s the case, at least one NFL insider believes that the Patriots could be a top landing spot for one of the game’s top wide receivers.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter “can see” the Patriots potentially landing Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in a trade this offseason.
“I think he becomes a trade candidate here. There’s been enough noise around that and him wanting out,” Schefter said on 97.5 The Fanatic’s “Unfiltered with Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo” show in Philadelphia. “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].
“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.”
Brown has been at the center of trade speculation over the last few months as he expressed discontent with his role in the Eagles’ offense in the early half of the 2025 regular season. It appeared some of the tension went away between Brown and the team as he remained in Philadelphia following November’s trade deadline, but he and head coach Nick Sirianni had a notable spat on the sideline in the Eagles’ wild-card loss to the 49ers.
Brown also didn’t play well in the Eagles’ season-ending playoff loss. He only had three receptions for 25 yards, dropping a crucial pass on Philadelphia’s final drive.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman downplayed the idea of the Eagles trading Brown when he met with reporters on Thursday, though.
“I think that when you’re trying to be a great team, it’s hard to trade great players, and A.J. Brown is a great player,” Roseman said. “He wears a ‘C’ for a reason. He’s an important part of this team, of this organization. He cares about winning, he cares about his teammates, and I think when you’re a team like ours that is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a championship, you just don’t get rid of guys like that.”
The Eagles would take on a pretty sizeable cap penalty if they were to trade Brown this offseason. If they traded Brown with a pre-June 1 designation, the Eagles would take on a $43,448,702, per OverTheCap.com. If the Eagles traded Brown with a post-June 1 designation, they’d take on a $16,353,496 dead cap hit, according to OverTheCap.com.
Still, Brown could force the issue and make it untenable for the Eagles to keep him. In fact, Brown asked for a trade multiple times during the 2025 regular season, SB Nation reported Friday.
Trading would also presumably land the Eagles some draft capital, which they could use as some of their key defensive players will see their rookie contracts expire in the next year or two. The Eagles acquired Brown for a first-round pick (No. 18 overall) and a third-round pick (No. 101 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Of course, Brown and Vrabel spent three seasons together with the Titans, with the two speaking highly of each other in the past. While the Patriots’ receiver play has been better than expected this year, Brown would likely become New England’s top wide receiver if he joined the team. He’s logged at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of the first seven years of his career expect one, when he missed four games due to injury in 2021.
Even this year, Brown reached the 1,000-yard mark thanks to a strong close to the season. The 28-year-old recorded 40 receptions for 546 yards and four touchdowns in the final six games he played.
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