The Eagles will not be moving on form the star wide receiver this offseason.
A.J. Brown will not be joining the New England Patriots, or in fact any other team, this offseason. Despite some unsubstantiated rumors that they might be willing to make a move, the Philadelphia Eagles have no intentions of trading their star wide receiver, according to a recent report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Brown, 27, is coming off his sixth season in the NFL and third as an Eagle. Before joining Philadelphia in 2022, he was a productive wide receiver and former second-round draft pick by the Tennessee Titans and their then-head coach Mike Vrabel.
With Vrabel now in New England and Brown himself a lifelong Patriots fan, the stars finally appeared to be aligning for the two to join forces. Unsurprisingly, however, no such union will materialize this year.
For starters, Brown is a cornerstone player for the Eagles and played a pivotal role in them winning the Super Bowl in February. He served as their No. 1 pass catcher in targets (97) and receiving yards (1,079) and ranked second behind only DeVonta Smith in catches (67), touchdowns (7) and playing time (66.2%).
The biggest dealbreaker, however, is his contract. Brown signed a three-year, $96 million extension last spring, and trading him before the draft would create massive salary cap issues for Philadelphia. Even if a move would happen after June 1, the Eagles would still be facing $16.4 million in dead cap with virtually no net gains.
Schefter’s report on Monday therefore was mostly unofficial confirmation of what was always going to be a pipe dream for the Patriots. If they want to upgrade a wide receiver corps currently headlined by offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins as well as returning starters DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne and Kayshon Boutte, they either need to look elsewhere on the trade market or invest a draft pick later this week.
Among the potential targets the Patriots might be looking for are potential first-rounders Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona), Matthew Golden (Texas) and Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State). From Day 2 on, Luther Burden III (Missouri), Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel (Iowa State), Tre Harris (Ole Miss) and Elic Ayomanor (Stanford) look like possible targets.