Patriots Acquire A.J. Brown From Eagles, Shaking Up Receiver Room

Normally when it comes to big moves in the NFL, very rarely are there just one at a time. Earlier Monday, we saw Myles Garrett traded to the Los Angeles Rams by the Cleveland Browns. One would think that was enough big news for the day.

Apparently, no one got that memo to the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. The two teams hooked up on a deal Monday afternoon with another big name changing uniforms when it was all said and done. Let’s take a look at the deal.

The Deal

To New England Patriots: WR A.J. Brown

To Philadelphia Eagles: 5th round pick in 2027, 1st round pick in 2028

From the Patriots Perspective

This was a move that was kicked around all offseason as the Patriots needed to add to their receiver room. Sure, the Patriots made the Super Bowl last season but their receivers didn’t scare anyone. Giving Drake Maye a viable #1 receiver makes sense. Stefon Diggs was cut this offseason. The Patriots signed Romeo Doubs from the Packers in free agency but still needed a top of the depth chart. So, they took a swing to bring Brown in to give them a proven commodity in the receiver room.

Brown reeled in 78 passes for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the Eagles despite missing two games. It marked his fourth straight 1000-yard season and his sixth in his seven-year NFL career. Brown has 524 career receptions for 8,029 yards and 56 scores. This marks his third team, having started his career with the Tennessee Titans (2019-21) before going to the Eagles (2022-25) in a deal. This trade reunites Brown with coach Mike Vrabel, who was his coach with the Titans. The Patriots inherit Brown’s deal, worth an average of $32 millon a year, that runs through 2029.

From the Eagles Perspective

If you’re Philadelphia, either the rumors of discord between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts were more accurate than most thought, or they feel that Brown is on the decline. As it stands, this breakup was on the horizon for months and the Eagles leaned into it. They selected Makai Lemon in the first round out of USC. In addition, the Eagles picked up Dontayvion Wicks in a deal with Green Bay while adding Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore as free agents.

Making the deal now allows Howie Roseman and the Eagles to break up the dead money on Brown’s deal over two seasons. That means the Eagles take on a dead cap hit of $16.3 million this season and $27.1 million in 2027. Not getting a first-round pick in 2027 seems like an uncommon miss for Howie Roseman. He usually is the guy that comes up with all the extra value in trades. Instead, the Eagles get the better of the two fifth-round selections New England ends up holding in 2027. There’s a first round pick coming but it isn’t until 2028. Maybe Roseman is banking on regression for the Patriots and the wear and tear of two more years on Brown leads to a better pick.

The first day of June has not been disappointing when it comes to generating shockwaves around the league. We’ll have to wait and see what dominoes are next to fall in what has been a wild offseason.