The New England Patriots are expected to land Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown in a June trade, and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky wants Patriots fans to understand exactly what that means for quarterback Drake Maye, and the team’s chances of a repeat Super Bowl appearance.
The trade is not expected to close before this week’s NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. But with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting Monday that a deal is “tracking to happen on or after June 1,” the question has shifted from whether or not the Patriots get Brown to what they’ll have to give up in order to get him.
GettyESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky has weighed in with a blunt take on A.J. Brown amid growing Patriots trade speculation.
Dan Orlovsky’s Take on A.J. Brown and the Patriots
Orlovsky spent seven seasons as an NFL quarterback, three of them with the Detroit Lions, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2005 draft out of Connecticut. His most active stretch in Detroit came in 2008, when he started seven games and threw for 1,818 yards and eight touchdowns. That was the high point of a career that totaled 3,132 passing yards across 26 appearances. He joined ESPN as an analyst in 2018 and is now a regular presence on the network’s Get Up, First Take, and NFL Live programs.
Orlovsky addressed the Brown-to-New England situation directly on ESPN’s Get Up Monday, and his case for the trade was built around a single, precise stat.
“From the Patriots’ perspective, A.J. Brown: walking first down,” Orlovsky said, as quoted by writer Danny Jaillet of Patriots Wire. “He’s a walking first down. I think in the last three years, only Ja’Marr Chase has more first downs receiving than A.J. Brown. So, Drake Maye, right now, let’s go win coming off of a great Year 2.”
On First Take, Orlovsky went further, declaring the deal effectively finished. “This is going to happen,” he said, as quoted by Boston sports cable outlet NESN. “This isn’t out there and all of a sudden going to not happen. So I firmly believe this is going to be something that’s basically done. They’re just waiting for the legal element to happen.”
He added that the Eagles’ relationship with Brown has simply run its course, and that new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s scheme, expected to lean heavily on multiple tight ends, no longer fits Brown’s skill set.
“Trading him just feels like the necessary thing,” Orlovsky said.
Why the A.J. Brown Trade Must Wait Until June
The June 1 deadline is entirely based on financial accounting procedures. Moving Brown before that date would incur more than $43 million in dead cap money for the Eagles, against the 2026 cap. After June 1, that figure splits across two seasons, dropping the immediate hit to roughly $16 million, according to an NBC Sports Philadelphia report. New England carries approximately $35.7 million in cap space and can absorb Brown’s contract, which runs through 2029.
Schefter clarified on The Pat McAfee Show that there is no mechanism to designate a trade as a post-June 1 transaction. He also said he expects a future first-round pick to anchor the compensation package. NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry pushed back, arguing a second-round pick is the realistic ceiling for a receiver three years removed from his last elite season.
Brown grabbed 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. He turns 29 in June, is reportedly a lifelong Patriots fan, and played under head coach Mike Vrabel during Vrabel’s first head coaching tenure, with the Tennessee Titans. Per Schefter’s reporting published Monday on ESPN.com, multiple sources believe Brown will “likely become a Patriot.” The draft comes first. Then June 1 arrives. Then New England, if all goes according to plan, gets its deep-threat wide receiver.
Patriots Hit With Blunt A.J. Brown Trade Take From Ex-Lions QB