The New England Patriots are rumored to still be involved in trade discussions for Eagles All-Pro WR A.J. Brown. Back around the start of the league year in March, reports swirled that Brown could be on the move, with it being later revealed that the Patriots and Rams were the favorites to land him. For New England’s part, adding a bona fide number one receiver to their offense makes a lot of sense.
Normally, teams don’t trade away pillars of their offense still in the prime of their career. But Brown expressed frustration with the Eagles offense in 2025 and was almost moved at the trade deadline last fall. The Patriots are primed to take advantage, and could reunite Brown with his former coach in Tennessee, New England HC Mike Vrabel.
NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo unpacked recent comments from Patriots EVP (and de facto GM) Eliot Wolf on the potential of a Brown trade.
NFL Insider on the New England Patriots’ Chances for an A.J. Brown Trade
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 23: A.J. Brown #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles is brought down by Caelen Carson #21 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“Yeah, [Wolf’s comments fit] what we said, which was there was a run at this at the start of the league year in March, but that would’ve incurred an enormous [dead] salary cap hit for the Eagles in 2026,” Garafolo said on Good Morning Football. “If they wait until after June 1st, that salary cap hit can then be pushed off into 2027 — and [Eagles GM] Howie Roseman knew, if he made the deal in March, it was going be such a massive cap hit that [he said], ‘Here is my price, I am not coming off my price, because look at what I have to take on financially.’”
“And the other thing with Howie is, when he’s negotiating with teams and he says, ‘Here’s the price,’ he then doesn’t want to lower it. Because future negotiations are going to be affected by that. And you say, ‘Oh, well, he came off that price, he’s going to come off this one.’ So it almost felt like — it didn’t happen in March, we’ll see you again in June. And what Eliot Wolf said, which was basically just trying to say, ‘Hey, we’re open to anything.’ That’s the blanket statement that can’t get you in trouble, period. But it’s also in line with what we’re talking about, that this could circle back come June for the Eagles [and] the Patriots.”
Could Another Team Be Ahead of the Patriots in the A.J. Brown Sweepstakes?
“And listen — it was closer for the Rams [back in March],” Garafolo continued. “The Rams and the Patriots were both involved. It was closer to getting done at one point with the Rams than it was with the Patriots. The Patriots were very reluctant to meet the asking price of a first-round pick plus, especially with that first-round pick being in 2027.”
“I mean, the Eagles were looking at this [saying], ‘Can we beef up in 2027?’ which is expected to be a stronger draft — a lot of teams were already doing that, but the Patriots weren’t willing to go there. So, again, now the 2026 picks are going to be out the window come June, obviously the draft will be over. So we’ll see what winds up happening when we get to that [point].”
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