Waking up on Monday morning, New England Patriots fans got a very positive update on the A.J. Brown front from Adam Schefter. Effectively, there will likely be a deal between the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite that, another NFL insider, Tom Pelissero, would quickly throw some water on that with his own report. The Patriots and Eagles haven’t been talking recently.
“There have been no trade talks recently between the Eagles and Patriots (or anyone else),” Pelissero posted. “But with signs pointing towards a post-June 1 split, AJ Brown staying away from voluntarily workouts makes sense for both sides.”
As Pelissero also noted, Brown is not attending voluntary workouts with the Eagles. Those are voluntary, so there won’t be any kind of punishment that comes with a holdout from non-voluntary team activities. Instead, he’ll continue to wait and see what the future holds.
Luckily for Patriots fans, Schefter’s initial report did note that, “As one source said about the Patriots’ pursuit of Brown, they’ll “definitely be engaging then.” So, while negotiations aren’t ongoing, they’re expected to begin again following June 1st.
Ian Rapoport Recently Explained the A.J. Brown Timeline
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The A.J. Brown situation is a unique one compared to other player trades in that it’s been extended out and has the June 1st deadline. That’s a distinction that another NFL insider, Ian Rapoport, did his best to explain recently.
“This is not a situation of teams saying, ‘The draft is coming. I’ve got to get my trade because I’ve got to get the picks.’ Or, ‘Okay, it’s not going to be this draft so I’m going to wait until right before the season because it’s going to be next year’s draft picks that are going to be traded.’ No. This is one where a trade, if it is going to happen, and certainly, there is a lot of evidence that eventually it is, would have to happen after June 1st,” Rapoport said.
“Because of the salary cap ramifications for the Eagles. It cuts the dead cap money in half, and the fact that the picks that you would be looking for would be 2027 draft picks, which is considered by many to most people to be a better draft, a deeper draft, and that probably is what the Eagles would want anyway.”
In other words, it’s not only going to save the Eagles millions of dollars against the salary cap, but they can get picks in a draft they prefer if they wait to trade Brown. So, again, it becomes less a matter of if but when he gets traded. There, the Patriots appear to be a clear frontrunner to land him.
Eliot Wolf Left the Door Open to Trade for A.J. Brown
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown
Ahead of the NFL Draft, the Patriots’ EVP of Player Personnel held a press conference. Once again, A.J. Brown became a topic of conversation. There, Wolf looked to thread the line between not talking about an opposing team’s player and leaving the door open to trading for him.
“As far as players on other teams, going to keep the door open to anything that we think may improve our roster, whether that’s with the player you mentioned or other players,” Wolf said.
With the NFL Draft coming quickly, Wolf and the Patriots have a chance to be aggressive, adding weapons around Drake Maye. Doing that could change leverage in this potential trade. It could also signal that the team is expecting to land Brown later if they largely overlook wide receiver.
NFL Insider Shares a Surprising Update on the A.J. Brown Trade Negotiations