Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Patriots reportedly reached out to Eagles again to gauge interest in A.J. Brown trade
"Shrug emoji on if that’s true, or what Philly’s answer was."
A.J. Brown just lifted the Lombardi Trophy with the Eagles last month.
But even with the star wide receiver seemingly settled in with the reigning champs, that reportedly hasn’t precluded the Patriots from gauging his availability this offseason.
With New England seemingly pursuing any and all options in order to give Drake Maye a proven, No. 1 pass-catcher for 2025 and beyond, the Patriots reportedly called the Eagles to inquire about Brown — who played for Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.
“I’ve heard the Patriots WILL do whatever they can to get a real ‘WR1’ for Drake Maye and the new coaching staff,” NBC Sports’ Matthew Berry wrote Tuesday. “I heard they are knocking on all doors, seeing what they can possibly trade for, and one person told me they heard the Patriots called Philly asking if A.J. Brown was available.
Advertisement:
“Shrug emoji on if that’s true, or what Philly’s answer was, but this much seems certain: New England will aggressively try to upgrade its wide receiver room this offseason.”
Unlike other star wideouts who have already been dangled out on the trade market like Cooper Kupp or DK Metcalf, Brown’s viability as a trade chip this offseason remains unclear.
Even with both Brown and the Eagles’ success on the field in 2024, the 27-year-old wideout did express some frustrations with the team throughout the season.
Brown is coming off of a 2024 campaign in Philly where he caught 67 passes off 97 targets — standing as the second-lowest mark of his career — for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns.
Advertisement:
Before Brown stuffed the stat sheet (261 catches, 4,031 yards, 25 touchdowns in his last three seasons) upon arriving in Philadelphia via trade in April 2022, he played for Vrabel in Tennessee for three years.
Vrabel spoke highly of Brown on WEEI in January when asked about his former wideout and the challenges he’s faced during his time with the Eagles.
“I’m proud of his development, his personal development. And working on himself,” Vrabel said, adding (Brown is) a passionate player, and I love him to death. And I have a very, very close relationship with him.”
As appealing as it would be to see Brown haul in passes from Maye in the coming years, it remains unlikely that an Eagles team looking to repeat in 2025 would want to trade their top receiver.
While conventional thinking would signal that the Eagles could free cap space to utilize elsewhere if they dealt Brown, Philadelphia would still have plenty of dead money on their books if they opted to deal Brown.
If the Eagles dealt Brown to New England before June 1, they would incur a dead salary cap hit of around $31.6 million for 2025, per Spotrac. Even if they traded him after June 1, the Eagles would still be knocked for a $10.8 million dead cap space in 2025 — along with around $20.8 million in dead cap space in 2026, per Spotrac.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com