One big point in favor of AJ Brown that some haven't considered is the financial aspect.
Since the Eagles took a large portion of the financial hit for trading Brown, this will benefit the Patriots salary cap.
If we assume that the Patriots pick up Browns' option each year and pro-rate it over the 5 years of the deal this is how he will impact our cap.
Year 1. 2026. $6.79 million.
Year 2. 2027. $10.956 million.
Year 3. 2028. $10.956 million.
Year 4. 2029. $32.75 million but ZERO guaranteed money. Patriots can walk away or negotiate an extension.
Source:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...les-aj-brown-traded-patriots-new-england-next
So in terms of salary Brown's first 3 years with the Patriots are very team friendly.
This allows us to continue loading up in free agency concurrently with Drake Maye's modest rookie QB salary.
Now if we want to keep Brown past 2028 then we need to get financially creative since he won't want to play with ZERO guaranteed money.
But now let's consider the average salary of a top 10 WR1 in the NFL is 30 million dollars and up.
For the next 3 years we get our WR1 for 1/3 the money that most teams PAY that position.
Also factor in we deferred the 1st round pick to 2028 whick makes it equivalent to a 2027 2nd in the trade value chart.
The AJ Brown trade could end up looking a very smart deal when we look back on it as long as he performs up to his usual standards.