New England Patriots
“If he finally ends up being on our group, nice. What an important participant. And if he doesn’t, we’ve nonetheless set to work these guys right here.”
FOXBOROUGH — It’s getting more durable and more durable to disregard the smoke between the Patriots and Eagles and the potential of a blockbuster commerce involving star receiver A.J. Brown.
A number of reviews — together with from longtime ESPN insider Adam Schefter — have famous {that a} commerce involving Brown and the Patriots is seemingly a performed deal, with each New England and Philly ready to finish the potential handshake settlement after June 1.
June 1 stays a key date by way of any potential commerce, as Brown’s wage cap cost shall be unfold out between 2026 and 2027 after that date.
If Philly dealt Brown earlier than June 1, they’d be on the hook for a $43.3 million useless cap hit. In the event that they commerce him after June, that useless cap hit drops right down to $16.3 million — a extra palatable take for an Eagles group nonetheless fastened in a win-now window.
Whereas Brown stays on the Eagles’ roster as of Wednesday, a number of Patriots gamers have been candid when requested concerning the varied commerce rumors which have linked New England to the previous All-Professional wideout and Tremendous Bowl champion.
Milton Williams — who received mentioned Tremendous Bowl alongside Brown with the Eagles in February 2025 — was requested if he’s had any sway over getting his former teammate over to Foxborough.
“You see the noise, and also you see it,” Williams mentioned. “[He’s a] hell of a participant. He can undoubtedly assist our group. However they don’t pay me to try this.”
Throughout the three seasons that noticed Williams taking part in alongside Brown in Philadelphia, the now-28-year-old receiver was some of the productive pass-catchers within the league — averaging 94 catches per season with a mean of 1,458 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns.
Even throughout a seemingly down 12 months for Brown and the Eagles’ offense in 2026, Brown nonetheless recorded 1,003 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns off of 78 catches.
“Nice dude,” Williams mentioned of Brown. “Monster on the sphere, nice within the locker room, holding guys accountable and holding himself accountable. That’s all the things you need in a participant of his caliber.”
Including a receiver with Brown’s resume — together with six seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards — can be a welcome sight for Drake Maye and a Patriots offense trying to transfer previous final postseason’s regression.
Whereas Maye acknowledged that nothing is ready in stone relating to a possible blockbuster deal, the 23-year-old QB famous that the commerce rumors have been robust to disregard at this level through the offseason.
“I feel it’s a part of the NFL,” Maye mentioned of commerce whispers. “They throw names round there round each group, relying on whoever seems finest on the graphic within the jersey on social media. So I’m actually simply targeted — we’ve received some new guys in right here that we’re working with.
“I do know there’s quite a lot of speak [regarding Brown], but when he finally ends up being on our group, nice. What an important participant. And if he doesn’t, we’ve nonetheless set to work these guys right here. So it’s a stability, however I do know he’s an outstanding participant.”
Maye and Williams are removed from the one Patriots gamers to have addressed Brown’s potential commerce to New England over the previous couple of weeks.
Veteran security Kevin Byard — who performed alongside Brown in Tennessee earlier than the wideout was dealt to Philly — praised the star expertise earlier this month.
“He was unstoppable,” Byard said of Brown’s tenure with the Titans. “Clearly, A.J. could be very gifted nonetheless, however this was younger A.J. with rather a lot to show. He couldn’t be coated in one-on-ones. … I bear in mind the primary recreation he actually popped out was in opposition to the Falcons in Atlanta, and he scored two touchdowns.”
“I can recall he caught a slant and took it to the home. At that time, I used to be like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to be a canine. He’s going to be a extremely good participant,’ and he simply took off from there.”
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