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

Give Kraft A Hand said:

They don’t though. This is like the claims last year to not sign Diggs because Pop was Diggs at home. They do lack a deep threat. Pierce is better than Boutte by a mile. But obviously you go with Brown over him.

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By a mile? Really?

TommyD4207 said:

By a mile? Really?

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I think so. Do I think Pierce is a true number 1? No. But I have questions if Boutte is a true number 2. He had a solid season but remember we’re a year removed from some people thinking he was going to be a camp cut.

Give Kraft A Hand said:

True. I’m just looking at it as when Maye/Gonzo start taking up a ton of cap that’s when you really focus on cycling out vets for youth. I don’t have faith that Maye is going to play ball like Brady did. So if I had the option of Brown for two years or Pierce for two years I’d take Brown. I can’t see them being able to pay either once Maye’s extension kicks in.

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I see Maye as a top 3 QB for years to come. And I believe the way you win Lombardi's is by putting yourself in position every year: I don't believe in trying to cram a win into a 2 year window. You might win one doing that, but it's unlikely. And if they handle contracts well they can put good teams on the field every season. When you have a coach and Quarterback as good as Vrabel and Maye are you can win any year, and they should maximize that and win multiple Lombardi's,

I am super tired of the term #1 WR. I think there are maybe 10-12 guys that are real #1 guys that dictate defensive coverages every week and always get open when the team needs it most, so the fact that people keep saying ohh blah blah isn't a #1WR is as tiresome as the term generational in pre draft talk.

I normally try to ignore it but every now and then I see it and explode. I should be good til tomorrow.

Give Kraft A Hand said:

True. I’m just looking at it as when Maye/Gonzo start taking up a ton of cap that’s when you really focus on cycling out vets for youth. I don’t have faith that Maye is going to play ball like Brady did. So if I had the option of Brown for two years or Pierce for two years I’d take Brown. I can’t see them being able to pay either once Maye’s extension kicks in.

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But it would really be Brown for 2 years or Pierce growing with Maye for the next 4 years.

dliverey44 said:

I am super tired of the term #1 WR. I think there are maybe 10-12 guys that are real #1 guys that dictate defensive coverages every week and always get open when the team needs it most, so the fact that people keep saying ohh blah blah isn't a #1WR is as tiresome as the term generational in pre draft talk.

I normally try to ignore it but every now and then I see it and explode. I should be good til tomorrow.

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I also think that the 1,2,3,4,5 receivers is a flawed way of looking at the unit as a whole, because teams don't use them that way, they use them deep, wide, and underneath in various patterns designed to break defenses down.

Already 29. Big money. Whining while already being paid, and a Super Bowl champion trying to defend it. Will require non-trivial draft capital. We are not just a few pieces away.
Just don’t see the appeal.

Give Kraft A Hand said:

I think so. Do I think Pierce is a true number 1? No. But I have questions if Boutte is a true number 2. He had a solid season but remember we’re a year removed from some people thinking he was going to be a camp cut.

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SOME People

Why is this thread still going on. 38 ****ing pages and nothing really new for the last 20 of them. Tomorrow marks the start of FA and there will be a lot to talk about. Let's talk about AJ Brown when the news hits that the Eagles will let him go for a 2nd round pick. Otherwise let's please move on.

Ross12 said:

Not exactly.

The team who traded him the first time was the Titans - the coach was Mike Vrabel, who famously wanted to keep him but was overruled. The GM was later fired and it was the beginning of the team’s spiral downward. Now years later, the team trying to trade FOR Brown has the head coach… Mike Vrabel. So…

To me, all this means is that either Vrabel is stupid and really wants a player who is trouble, or Nick Sirianni is a weak coach who can’t handle Brown and Vrabel knows this and wants to jump on a golden opportunity.

I personally prefer the second option but you do you.

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I don’t know, maybe Brown would come here and be as pleasant a surprise as Diggs was. But he’s very expensive, I’ve still got concerns, and it seems to me his ego and high opinion of himself is at least partly the reason for both the Titans and the Eagles moving on from him. I’ll trust Vrabel to know how golden the opportunity really is, which is a lot less imo than much of 5he rabid enthusiasm on here. So yes, I’ll do me by pouring cold water on overheated discussions.

There were two reasons the Titans traded Brown: he had been injury prone, and he was being intransigent on the price to extend his contract. He had surgery on both knees during the off season before 2021 and then was on IR for a chest injury during the 2021 season. So the Titans had some legit concerns about his durability and availability. Brown and the Titans were reportedly very far apart on trying to negotiate an extension, and Brown was taking it personally:

“They offered me like 16 (million) up to like 20 with incentives,” Brown said. “Like no disrespect but don't disrespect me bro.“

AJ Brown then went to his agent for advice.

“I paid you to do a job, lead me,” Brown said. “He like, ‘stop talking to them.' He like, ‘stop talking, cut of all communication.'”

“Of course like we asked for like a crazy number, because that's the start of negotiations, you're supposed to start high,” Brown said. “But my agent knew, like, what number I would have took. You know I would have took 22 (million) to stay in Tennessee, ...”

Brown was traded to the Eagles by Titans GM Jon Robinson on draft night, and he signed a four-year $100 million extension with the team, so the average salary is $25 million, which is $3 million more than he would have taken to stay in Tennessee.

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(source, in 2023)

And here’s another report, from just after the trade in 2022 (source)

"This wasn't my fault," Brown told ESPN. "I wanted to stay, but the deal they offered was a low offer. The deal they offered wasn't even $20 million a year. I would have stayed if they offered me $22 million"

Titans' side​

The Titans and Brown's camp had started preliminary contract negotiations on an extension at the combine in early March. […]
Negotiations were going well -- according to sources in Brown's camp and within the Titans. The likely sweet spot was going to be in the $20 million per season range.

Then, starting with Kirk, the market exploded. Brown's camp made it clear a new deal was the only way he'd be on the field for offseason activities.

The demand motivated the Titans to expedite their process, according to a team source. The Titans offered Brown an extension that averaged $20 million per season without incentives, a team source said.

The team believed it was fair because it had a higher average salary than Kirk and was in line with Moore, Godwin and Williams at $20 million annually. The counteroffer from Brown's team was an average higher than $25 million and $80 million in guarantees.

"I dealt with the representatives there," Robinson said after the first day of the draft. "Went back and forth really over the last two to three weeks and just realized that the gap was really too far for us to bridge."

Brown requested a trade and cut off all contact with the Titans -- including his wide receiver coach and others on the staff -- three weeks before the draft, according to a team source. The Eagles had been monitoring the situation and saw their opportunity.

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Seems like Brown’s agent probably had knowledge that he could get more money for his client, and himself, from the Eagles (that’s my polite way to say tampering without saying tampering, lol), and played his client and the Titans very well. He may not have kept AJ fully up to date on the Titan’s increased offer, for one thing, so Brown’s feeling disrespected made him more willing to cut off all contact and hold out of all off season activities.

Whatever, as a result when the Eagles offered a first round pick, 18 overall, the Titans’ GM took it.

Anyway, I’m still concerned with the way Brown has been handling things in Philly. I’m also wondering if he still has the same agent.

I’m also concerned about Brown’s durability. He missed the playoffs in 2023 because he sprained a knee in the season finale, in 2024 he missed three games with a hamstring injury, then missed time when he aggravated it in 2025. And he’s now 29, so minor dings won’t be as minor and he wint heal as well in the future.

If the Pats can get him for a reasonable price I’d be hopeful that he’ll stay in line even if Maye continues to spread the ball around to everybody, but I’ll also be nervous until I see it go down.

patfanken said:

Why is this thread still going on. 38 ****ing pages and nothing really new for the last 20 of them. Tomorrow marks the start of FA and there will be a lot to talk about. Let's talk about AJ Brown when the news hits that the Eagles will let him go for a 2nd round pick. Otherwise let's please move on.

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Sorry to say this but I’ll be surprised if that happens soon enough to make you happy.

IIRC it’s much worse for the Eagles to move him now instead of after June 1 because their cap hit goes down a lot then. Sorry you may have two more months of this to endure.

Lagaffe_07 said:

The Titans traded Brown because Jon Robinson who was with the Patriots for a long time didn’t want to pay Brown and wanted to do a BB and trade him and replace him with someone from the draft.

Mike Vrabel didn’t want to trade Brown and that trade as the end for the Titans

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Now that I’ve done a deep dive into it I’d say it’s more that the Titans traded Brown because his agent cut Jon Robinson’s throat.

If we don’t land Pierce now we are in deep
trouble. Philly will have all the leverage in the Brown trade and we will get desperate.

I can’t see Vrabel and Wolff saying it’s ok if our top WR in 2026 is Boutte.

I honestly think the Patriots are playing with fire. Will they get burned? We’ll see.

n1997y said:

Now that I’ve done a deep dive into it I’d say it’s more that the Titans traded Brown because his agent cut Jon Robinson’s throat.

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I have this strange feeling we are going to end up with Doubs.. feeling like if the AJ trade really was going to happen it would have already.. just to much smoke surrounding it for it not to be a real possibility.. I also don't see us offering pierce 27-30 million in wich he's seeking.. he's a 20m player..

Real fan 02 said:

I also don't see us offering pierce 27-30 million in wich he's seeking.. he's a 20m player..

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In the end you could be right because it all depends on what Patriot's think of Pierce.

Milton Williams was projected to get 18-21 and got 26. He was a $20 a year player they said.
Pierce is almost an identical free agent. Broke out last year and his tape is great, same as Williams. "Overpaying" for guys that will produce at a high level rarely ends badly.

Tee Higgins is 28.75 million and on tape, personally, I'd rather have Pierce the next 4 years than Higgins. I'm rooting hard for them to get Pierce, fans here will love this guy once they see him on the field. He's a Vrabel guy 100%.
With the increase in salary cap the 28.75 million in 2025 is the same as 30.9 million in 2026

It's rare that true impact guys get to free agency., when they slip thru the cracks like Williams and Pierce you just got to go for it.

Hope it happens.

KCSVEN said:

In the end you could be right because it all depends on what Patriot's think of Pierce.

Milton Williams was projected to get 18-21 and got 26. He was a $20 a year player they said.
Pierce is almost an identical free agent. Broke out last year and his tape is great, same as Williams. "Overpaying" for guys that will produce at a high level rarely ends badly.

Tee Higgins is 28.75 million and on tape, personally, I'd rather have Pierce the next 4 years than Higgins. I'm rooting hard for them to get Pierce, fans here will love this guy once they see him on the field. He's a Vrabel guy 100%.
With the increase in salary cap the 28.75 million in 2025 is the same as 30.9 million in 2026

It's rare that true impact guys get to free agency., when they slip thru the cracks like Williams and Pierce you just got to go for it.

Hope it happens.

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Agreed... you are correct. The Difference this season is we are a destination as opposed to last season where we had to "overpay " guys... is why Davis got his deal.. I like the Idea of Pierce playing with and elite QB and the best OC in the league. I just wonder if it will be a bidding war? He's likely looking for 27-30 million.. realistically he's a 20 million dollar player... who's still developing his route tree.. I know FA has so many twists and turns to it.. I just believe someone like Doubs will probably be who we get...

What we need is no matter who we add.. for Williams to take the year 2 jump... if he can do that this offense can really be dangerous.

Rob0729 said:

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lol. Phillips is now a Panther. No more info about Brown’s contract.

Here’s the key info on Brown’s contract: June 1.

Here’s Grok’s summary, which matches my recollections from previous discussions:

Real fan 02 said:

I have this strange feeling we are going to end up with Doubs.. feeling like if the AJ trade really was going to happen it would have already.. just to much smoke surrounding it for it not to be a real possibility.. I also don't see us offering pierce 27-30 million in wich he's seeking.. he's a 20m player..

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I expect the Brown trade will not happen until after June 1, if it happens at all.

I’m not surprised the Colts stepped up to keep Pierce. I didn’t really expect we’d be paying the final price for him.

We might end up with Doubs. And we might end up with Briwn. We might even end up with them both. We will just have to wait and see.