There was no shortage of coverage for the situation concerning Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and a possible offseason trade. At this point, it’s grow to be widely accepted that the team will ship Brown off to Recent England, but they may wait until after June 1 to accomplish that. Well, in the most recent development from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer (via Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com), there’s belief that “the framework is in place” for the trade to occur this week.
To run through a transient timeline, following several incidents that appeared to paint an image of an unhappy Brown in Philadelphia, reports emerged near the tip of the 2025 NFL season that the Eagles would consider trading the three-time second-team All-Pro that they had acquired 4 years ago after sending a first-round pick to Tennessee. By the point the season had ended and a brand new champion had been crowned, even Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni hinted at the long run in telling the media that he couldn’t guarantee Brown would return for 2026.
One in all the 2 teams that made it to Super Bowl LX — the one which fell just in need of the season’s ultimate goal — expressed early interest in Brown, linking the previous Titans wideout to his former head coach in Recent England. The Patriots weren’t alone of their pursuit, though, because the Bills, Ravens, and Rams emerged as teams to observe for the veteran pass catcher. The Bills appeared to remove themselves from the conversation, though, after successfully acquiring former Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore and a fifth-round pick in exchange for a second-rounder.
The Rams reached out to Philadelphia, and trade talks progressed to the purpose that Los Angeles began exploring the thought of trading away veteran wide receiver Davante Adams. It was rumored that talks with the Rams had progressed even further than the Eagles’ discussions with Recent England, but ultimately, Los Angeles was ruled out as a possible trade destination for Brown.
With the Rams out, just a few other teams were rumored with little substance, but interest out of Recent England remained a continuing, even after the team made a powerful move to enhance its receiving corps by signing former Packers receiver Romeo Doubs. Veteran wideout Stefon Diggs also expressed interest in re-signing to stick with the Patriots as a free agent, but adding one other big contract to that position room was something the Patriots were only willing to do in the event that they missed out on Brown.
At first, the Eagles had intentions of completing some solution for the situation with Brown before the beginning of free agency, but as time went on, it became clear that the team intended to attend until after June 1 to make a trade occur with the intention to avoid incurring massive dead cap figures. Any trade before that date would shoulder the team with $43.45MM in dead money, and Brown would still account for $20.06MM of their cap space for the season. A post-June 1 trade would still leave Philadelphia with $16.35MM in dead money, but it surely would also clear $7.04MM in cap space.
With this realization, it was considered to be “inevitable” that Brown could be traded once June arrived. As if to emphasise that time, Philadelphia approached the 2026 NFL Draft with the mindset that it could not have Brown for 2026 and walked away from the primary round having drafted USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, a transparent alternative for the departing veteran. With the Eagles set, the one query that remained concerned Brown’s future home and compensation.
Expectations continued to point to the Patriots because the likeliest other participant within the inevitable exchange, but Recent England appeared to balk at the thought of utilizing a first-round selection to amass Brown. The Eagles’ initial ask was for a first- and second-round package (specifically, with a first-rounder in 2027), though Brown’s value was perceived to be more like a packaged headlined by a second-round pick. Two days ago, it was reported that the Eagles and Patriots were still negotiating but that Philadelphia had opened its mind to accepting a 2028 first-round pick.
In our latest update from Breer, he clarifies that the precise terms and conditions of the deal should still must be hammered out, but with the framework in place, he asserts that it “would take someone backing out” for the trade to not occur. At this point, it could be a surprise if a team backed out, so all signs are pointing to Brown becoming a Patriot early in the approaching week.