The biggest storyline of the NFL offseason may be getting closer to finally being resolved.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported on Monday morning that there appears to be a timeline to expect a deal to get done between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots for star wide receiver A.J. Brown.
“The Eagles remain open to trading AJ Brown, the Patriots remain highly interested in acquiring the star receiver, and conversations are expected to resume shortly on or before June 1, likely culminating in a deal, per league sources,” Schefter stated.
“As one source said about the Patriots’ pursuit of Brown, they’ll ‘definitely be engaging then.’ A trade to New England is now considered likely.”
With Brown essentially in limbo for the next month-and-a-half, the Pro Bowler made a decision on Monday that got Eagles fans talking.
A.J. Brown a No-Show at Eagles Offseason Workouts
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown continues to wait to see if he’ll be traded to the Patriots
Because seemingly everyone around the league expects Brown to be in New England before next season, nobody should expect to see Brown in Philadelphia as he waits to be shipped to his new team.
Brown basically said as much on Monday when he skipped the start of the team’s offseason workouts.
“The #Eagles begin their offseason workout program today and WR A.J. Brown is not expected to attend as he awaits clarity on his future, sources tell The Insiders,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported. “There’s nothing mandatory before June 1, when trade talks with the #Patriots and perhaps others likely resume.”
Trading Brown any time before June 1 means the Eagles would take on a dead-cap hit of $43.5 million, while trading Brown post-June 1 would incur just a $16.4 million dead-cap charge.
With a trade to the Pats expected to be finalized at some point in the near future, it makes no sense for Brown to participate in any of Philadelphia’s offseason activities and risk possible injury, which could kill any deal being discussed.
Brown to Patriots Makes Too Much Sense Not to Happen
GettyNew England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown
Brown was always a favorite of Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during their time together with the Tennessee Titans.
That preexisting relationship is seemingly the driving factor in New England being so bullish on acquiring Brown, who caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards and 7 touchdowns last season despite the Eagles’ offensive struggles.
Schefter stated Monday on “Get Up” that because any potential Patriots-Eagles trade won’t happen after the draft, and there’s still a small possibility the deal might not happen, both teams could draft a wide receiver this week to cover their bases just in case.
“It’s hard to see another team jumping in, but you never know what could happen over the course of the next 5 or 6 so weeks,” Schefter said.
“There is that relationship that exists between the Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and A.J. Brown, and now it’ll be interesting to see if the Philadelphia Eagles would look to address the wide receiver position in the draft this week, or whether they feel it’s efficient to have gone out and signed Elijah Moore, Hollywood Brown, and traded for Dontayvion Wicks.
“The Patriots also have to figure that the overwhelming chances are they’re going to be getting a big-time wide receiver after June 1, we’ll see how that factors into their thinking going into the draft.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Eagles’ AJ Brown Makes Big Decision After Patriots News Emerges appeared first on Heavy Sports.