Patriots Rumor A.J. Brown trade rumors heat up - Should Patriots get him?

[imahobgoblin]

My knee-jerk fan reaction is 'of course, get him. The more weapons the better for Maye'

But then the sensible side of me sinks in......

1.) Unless he agrees to a restructure, he would likely come with larger price tag (and receiver isn't our greatest need)
2.) We've already seen that he can be disgruntled even on a winning team
3.) He's not exactly a spring chicken

So all in all I don't think the risk is worth it. While names like AJ Brown are flashy, it's just like Mac Hollins that fly under the radar and end up being much better acquisitions.

You need to look up stuff before you make claims. Today, the dude is 28. Thats it. He will be 29 on June 30. His contract is not horrible for the Pats.

2026: $23,393,497
2027: $22,705,807
2028: $27,588,802
2029: $29,307,000
2030: void $20,906,000/$53,520,000

None of these are horrible for an elite WR1 in his prime, which he is today. His lower production was from poor offensive calling, not a decline yet.

The biggest problem is the Eagles swallowing $72 million in dead cap in 2026 and 2027 if they trade him. Why would they do that?

 

[Huckleberry1]

Well that depends on the situation. Are you close to being a serious SB contender or not for example. Are you already a SB contender? Overpaying is not ALWAYS a bad thing and it's often times necessary to get that final piece to the puzzle. Not saying brown is that piece, I'm just saying. In general.

They are obviously a Super Bowl contender because they were in it in 25', but they still have plenty of work to get to the level of winning it. Seattle is the bar and they aren't there yet.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

They are obviously a Super Bowl contender because they were in it in 25', but they still have plenty of work to get to the level of winning it. Seattle is the bar and they aren't there yet.

No but a pass rush, improved OLine, and a beast like AJ would probably make them favorites.

 

[VJCPatriot]

The biggest problem is the Eagles swallowing $72 million in dead cap in 2026 and 2027 if they trade him. Why would they do that?

There is actually some financial nuance to the situation because the Eagles have structured his money as option bonuses.

If they trade him post June the cap hit is significantly lower.



Article discussing AJ Brown cap hits: Latest On Eagles' Situation With WR A.J. Brown

Financially for the Patriots if they acquire Brown in trade he would cost us 29m for 2026 and 21m for 2027. That's an average value of 25m over 2 years which is more than fair for an in his prime WR1 in today's market.

Article discussing salary impact for trading team as well: Looking at the Costs of Cutting or Trading Eagles WR AJ Brown | Over the Cap

 

[Real fan 02]

I’d take him on a short 2 year deal, assuming they could get him for a 4th round pick.

I don’t mind paying him a lot, as long as it’s not long term and has some injury provisions or playing time incentives built in.

The trade compensation matters, so does the length of the deal… but he’s only 28. The passing game in Philly wasn’t great because Hurts isn’t a great passer.

Exactly correct Wozzy.. hurts regression was evident.. he looked more like the QB who was nearly traded to Seattle for. Wilson a few years ago.. you have that offensive line and skill players and the offense was painful to watch last year.

AJ as we've seen before with guys like moss a change of scenery does wonders for a player.

 

[imahobgoblin]

There is actually some financial nuance to the situation because the Eagles have structured his money as option bonuses.

If they trade him post June the cap hit is significantly lower.



Article discussing AJ Brown cap hits: Latest On Eagles' Situation With WR A.J. Brown

Financially for the Patriots if they acquire Brown in trade he would cost us 29m for 2026 and 21m for 2027. That's an average value of 25m over 2 years which is more than fair for an in his prime WR1 in today's market.

Article discussing salary impact for trading team as well: Looking at the Costs of Cutting or Trading Eagles WR AJ Brown | Over the Cap

If this were to happen, then Diggs is gone. So rather than losing $70+ million, how much does Philly lose?

 

[JohnJH]

I'd take Alec Pierce as my 1st choice OVER Brown. No Draft Capitol to give up, and he's younger and versatile. I suspect that Pierce's best Football is ahead of him, especially with Maye throwing him the ball. He blocks like Mack Hollins and is VERY Fast. He's also not just a Y. He can and has played the Y and Z quite well. In fact, because the money would not be much more expensive, if Pickens ever didn't get tagged (which is highly unlikely that he won't get tagged), I'd take him over Brown given his age and how he'd tow the line in that WR Room and with Maye and Vrabel.

 

[ausbacker]

Exactly correct Wozzy.. hurts regression was evident.. he looked more like the QB who was nearly traded to Seattle for. Wilson a few years ago.. you have that offensive line and skill players and the offense was painful to watch last year.

AJ as we've seen before with guys like moss a change of scenery does wonders for a player.

The best description I read of Hurts was he's a Fullback pretending to play Quarterback.

 

[KCSVEN]

I'd take Alec Pierce as my 1st choice OVER Brown. No Draft Capitol to give up, and he's younger and versatile. I suspect that Pierce's best Football is ahead of him, especially with Maye throwing him the ball. He blocks like Mack Hollins and is VERY Fast. He's also not just a Y. He can and has played the Y and Z quite well. In fact, because the money would not be much more expensive, if Pickens ever didn't get tagged (which is highly unlikely that he won't get tagged), I'd take him over Brown given his age and how he'd tow the line in that WR Room and with Maye and Vrabel.

Reports say they will franchise Pierce if they can't reach a contract extension so 99% likely he's not going to be a free agent.

You would have to trade for a receiver better than Boutte. They just don't get to free agency unless they are like Mike Evans, older and/or coming off injury.

 

[Ross12]

There is actually some financial nuance to the situation because the Eagles have structured his money as option bonuses.

If they trade him post June the cap hit is significantly lower.



Article discussing AJ Brown cap hits: Latest On Eagles' Situation With WR A.J. Brown

Financially for the Patriots if they acquire Brown in trade he would cost us 29m for 2026 and 21m for 2027. That's an average value of 25m over 2 years which is more than fair for an in his prime WR1 in today's market.

Article discussing salary impact for trading team as well: Looking at the Costs of Cutting or Trading Eagles WR AJ Brown | Over the Cap

Trading him later makes the cap hit in 2026 lower, but it forces them to be on the hook for more total money in the long term. Trading him earlier makes the cap hit in 2026 higher, but it lets them get out of paying him a big option bonus in 2026 and they can send that cost to his new team instead.

I am inclined to think they would rather take a higher penalty on their cap in 2026 in exchange for more money freed up overall, since they can just restructure other contracts to make up the difference.

Basically, if they trade him right now then all they owe him is the acceleration of any signing and option bonuses that have already triggered, which total out to around $44M. That becomes about $44M in dead money on the 2026 salary cap, which is a loss of around $20M in 2026 cap space.

If they wait to trade him until after June 1st, only the salary cap prorations due in 2026 hit their cap, which means it's only around a $16M dead money charge vs $44M. However, this also means that his ~$27M option bonus in 2026 will also become their responsibility. So by trading him then, it means in 2027, all remaining prorations will hit - which will come out to around probably something like ~$45M.

So they are basically left with two options, as far as trades go:
Option A: trade Brown before June 1st, absorb $44M in dead money in 2026
Option B: trade Brown after June 1st, absorb only $16M in dead money in 2026, but then another $45M in 2027

I would think Howie Roseman would rather take the smaller total loss of cap. They would simply reshuffle and push some liabilities into 2027 where they have ~$100M of cap space.

 

[Real fan 02]

Reports say they will franchise Pierce if they can't reach a contract extension so 99% likely he's not going to be a free agent.

You would have to trade for a receiver better than Boutte. They just don't get to free agency unless they are like Mike Evans, older and/or coming off injury.

Pierce reminds me alot of Chris Hogan.. I say he gets franchised.. don't see indy just letting him walk... stay the course with looking for trading for a guy.. no matter what the Jags are saying I believe Brian Thomas Jr is available.. that is guy you want..long term.

 

[Rob0729]

 

[stinkypete]

No divas please.

 

[javajunky]

We are already dealing with Laundry's balky knee. It will be too much money at risk to deal with Brown's as well.

 

[Rob0729]

 

[Real fan 02]

The more the eagles publicly talk the lower the offers they are going to get IMO.. a 2nd and a 4th i say gets AJ?

 

[Real fan 02]

We are already dealing with Laundry's balky knee. It will be too much money at risk to deal with Brown's as well.

From what I've read it's more than just a bulky knee.. it's not guaranteed Landry even plays going forward.. he's going on 30 with a 3rd serious injury the last few seasons.. we'll see..

 

[Real fan 02]

No divas please.

Just about any good wr is a diva... it comes with the ego...

 

[Grogan14]

The more the eagles publicly talk the lower the offers they are going to get IMO.. a 2nd and a 4th i say gets AJ?

Very true. More talk equals lower return. They should say nothing.
I think he is definitely worth a 2nd

 

[n1997y]

Just about any good wr is a diva... it comes with the ego...

That’s what I feared with Diggs. Not what we got.