Framework ‘In Place’ For A.J. Brown Trade

There has been no shortage of coverage for the situation concerning Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and a potential offseason trade. At this point, it’s become widely accepted that the team will ship Brown off to New England, but they will wait until after June 1 to do so. Well, in the latest 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 brief timeline, following several incidents that seemed to paint a picture of an unhappy Brown in Philadelphia, reports emerged near the end of the 2025 NFL season that the Eagles would consider trading the three-time second-team All-Pro they had acquired four years ago after sending a first-round pick to Tennessee. By the time the season had ended and a new champion had been crowned, even Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni hinted at the future in telling the media that he couldn’t guarantee Brown would return for 2026.

One of the two teams that made it to Super Bowl LX — the one that fell just short of the season’s ultimate goal — expressed early interest in Brown, linking the former Titans wideout to his former head coach in New England. The Patriots were not alone in their pursuit, though, as the Bills, Ravens, and Rams emerged as teams to watch for the veteran pass catcher. The Bills seemed to remove themselves from the conversation, though, after successfully acquiring former Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore in exchange for a second- and fifth-round pick.

The Rams reached out to Philadelphia, and trade talks progressed to the point that Los Angeles began exploring the idea 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 New England, but ultimately, Los Angeles was ruled out as a potential trade destination for Brown.

With the Rams out, a few other teams were rumored with little substance, but interest out of New England remained a constant, even after the team made a strong move to improve its receiving corps by signing former Packers receiver Romeo Doubs. Veteran wideout Stefon Diggs also expressed interest in re-signing to stay with the Patriots as a free agent, but adding another big contract to that position room was something the Patriots were only willing to do if they missed out on Brown.

At first, the Eagles had intentions of completing some solution for the situation with Brown before the start of free agency, but as time went on, it became clear that the team intended to wait until after June 1 to make a trade happen in order 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 would also clear $7.04MM in cap space.

With this realization, it was considered to be “inevitable” that Brown would be traded once June arrived. As if to emphasize that point, Philadelphia approached the 2026 NFL Draft with the mindset that it would not have Brown for 2026 and walked away from the first round having drafted USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, a clear replacement for the departing veteran. With the Eagles set, the only question that remained concerned Brown’s future home and compensation.

Expectations continued to point to the Patriots as the likeliest other participant in the inevitable exchange, but New England seemed to balk at the idea of utilizing a first-round selection to acquire 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 exact terms and conditions of the deal may still need to be hammered out, but with the framework in place, he asserts that it “would take somebody backing out” for the trade not to occur. At this point, it would be a surprise if a team backed out, so all signs are pointing to Brown becoming a Patriot early in the coming week.