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

upstater1 · Mar 10, 2026

condon84 said:
I didn't include 2019-2023 because I was referring to teams winning SBs and the drafted players who contributed to those teams.

Again, you don't need to be All Pros to be considered a good draft pick. The guys I listed all played significant parts for those SB winning teams.

I also didn't list undrafted free agents that were major contributors like Jon Jones, Malcolm Butler, Ryan Allen, David Andrews, JC Jackson, Brandon Bolden.

I'm not going to defend what Belichick did from 2019-23. Obviously he lost his fastball and didn't replace key personnel that helped him in the FO. Losing Casserio was huge. He's gone on to help build that Texans team.

What happened in the 2014 - 2019 years was swinging for the fences on picks like Easley, just as you see KC doing. When the roster is loaded you try to hit a home run. Also, picks lost to deflategate, picks lost to trades for underwhelming players (Sanu, etc., but there's more) also prevented the youth infusion. I just think Belichick knew they were at the end, not only with the QB but with a lot of very slow vets, especially on D. About the only thing he did that I will not defend is choosing Shaq Mason over Thuney. That was a big mistake.

2020-2023 had a really bad draft mixed in, but the other 3 weren't bad drafts. Onwenu, Anfernee, Rham, Barmore, Marcus Jones, Boutte, Douglas, Gonzalez, all came from the decent drafts, with good FAs like Hunter Henry and Matthew Judon. I'd also say some were decent players that didn't fit here anymore like Dugger, and maybe even Strange.

BAD premium picks were Keion White, Tyquan, Uche, Mac Jones. Some others resigned with their new teams, like Ryland and Jake Andrews.

To me, if you find 3 good starters per draft and then one in FA, you're keeping up with the Joneses. Over a 4 year cycle, that's 16 good starters.

DaBruinz · Mar 10, 2026

Sciz said:
We don’t know the details of the Jordan Davis extension, but that will save them a few million on the 2026 cap. Then they just have to cut Michael Carter to have enough cap room to trade Brown, sign their draft picks, and basically nothing else significant.

The Eagles are really stuck. If they don't trade Brown between now and Thursday, they are on the hook for Brown's 27.7M option bonus. I'm not sure how many teams want to take on that payment even if it is for 1 year of Brown.

The other problem is that Brown likely wants a new deal since his salaries for 2027-2029 are Vet Min with the only extra money being a $1M roster bonus in each of 2028 and 2029..

Huckleberry1 · Mar 10, 2026

PatsFan2 said:

Wow, was I wrong. No offense 2 but I always thought you were male.

mgteich · Mar 10, 2026

If the patriots are willing to wait, Brown will almost assuredly be available on June 1st. NE can even tell PHI that so that both teams can plan.

Zuma · Mar 10, 2026

mgteich said:
If the patriots are willing to wait, Brown will almost assuredly be available on June 1st. NE can even tell PHI that so that both teams can plan.

Douglas, a 3rd and several or all of the 6th rounders (and maybe the 7th). But I prefer we keep the WR room as it is for 2026.

The Gr8est · Mar 10, 2026

DaBruinz said:
The Eagles are really stuck. If they don't trade Brown between now and Thursday, they are on the hook for Brown's 27.7M option bonus. I'm not sure how many teams want to take on that payment even if it is for 1 year of Brown.

The other problem is that Brown likely wants a new deal since his salaries for 2027-2029 are Vet Min with the only extra money being a $1M roster bonus in each of 2028 and 2029..

Could the Eagles even shock people and release Brown?

Not likely, but wouldn’t be the most shocking move.

DaBruinz · Mar 10, 2026

The Gr8est said:
Could the Eagles even shock people and release Brown?

Not likely, but wouldn’t be the most shocking move.

Well, we've seen that happen with Tua.. So there is no telling..

slash83 · Mar 10, 2026

Zuma said:
Douglas, a 3rd and several or all of the 6th rounders (and maybe the 7th). But I prefer we keep the WR room as it is for 2026.

So your preference is they go into the season with a bottom 5 receiver corps, gotcha

TommyD4207 · Mar 10, 2026

slash83 said:
So your preference is they go into the season with a bottom 5 receiver corps, gotcha

You need to go touch some grass or something if you think the Patriots have a bottom 5 receiver corps.

slash83 · Mar 10, 2026

TommyD4207 said:
You need to go touch some grass or something if you think the Patriots have a bottom 5 receiver corps.

Bottom 5-10, they aren’t a good unit.

Give Kraft A Hand · Mar 10, 2026

Dream is probably dead. I’m assuming that he’s going to be suiting up for the Eagles next year. Oh well

TommyD4207 · Mar 10, 2026

slash83 said:
Bottom 5-10, they aren’t a good unit.

What were they last year then?

Reminder they were 3rd in the league in passing before you answer.

JackBauer · Mar 10, 2026

Give Kraft A Hand said:
Dream is probably dead. I’m assuming that he’s going to be suiting up for the Eagles next year. Oh well

Isn’t it ~~embarrassing~~ premature to jump to conclusions on the second day of free agency?

slash83 · Mar 10, 2026

TommyD4207 said:
What were they last year then?

Reminder they were 3rd in the league in passing before you answer.

Drake elevated them.

TommyD4207 · Mar 10, 2026

slash83 said:
Drake elevated them.

...and there it is.

Crazy Patriot Guy · Mar 10, 2026

slash83 said:
Drake elevated them.

Is there a proposed rule change that says a QB can't elevate the WRs 2 seasons in a row?

Ross12 · Mar 10, 2026

Love The Drake said:
Wouldn’t, AJ be able to quick renegotiate his contract to stop the cap hit then sign a new deal with the Patriots?

Basically, the Eagles trading him before the season starts means they can pass his 2026 option bonus payment of around $27M off on NE. I don’t think he can change his deal to alter that option bonus because it has already triggered, it just needs to be paid. But even if it could be, once it’s paid, it is divided up over the next several years just like a signing bonus is as far as cap hit purposes, so there’s not much reason to change it.

Since1960 · Mar 10, 2026

The Gr8est said:
Could the Eagles even shock people and release Brown?

Not likely, but wouldn’t be the most shocking move.

mgteich said:
If the patriots are willing to wait, Brown will almost assuredly be available on June 1st. NE can even tell PHI that so that both teams can plan.

I wouldn’t trust Phiily - they’d trade him to the Bills for 2 future 5th rounders just to spite Brown & Vrabel….

Ross12 · Mar 10, 2026

DaBruinz said:
The Eagles are really stuck. If they don't trade Brown between now and Thursday, they are on the hook for Brown's 27.7M option bonus. I'm not sure how many teams want to take on that payment even if it is for 1 year of Brown.

The other problem is that Brown likely wants a new deal since his salaries for 2027-2029 are Vet Min with the only extra money being a $1M roster bonus in each of 2028 and 2029..

That’s not quite right, he has large option bonus payments every year. That is why his salary is the minimum.

Ras-IR Dowling · Mar 10, 2026

Give Kraft A Hand said:
Dream is probably dead. I’m assuming that he’s going to be suiting up for the Eagles next year. Oh well

This dream of yours is prob dead because phillys demands are too high. If the reports are true they’re asking for more in return now than they gave Tennessee.

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