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

So it looks like this might happen this weekend with the goebert news

Hopefully?

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

Whatever happens, I don't want it to take until June, personally.

ralmat55 said:

This is going down this weekend. Dallas Goedert’s contract is scheduled to void which will accelerate $20.93 million of unamortized bonus money into the 26 cap. Extending Goedert’s deal before it voids would allow the $20.93 m to be amortized over the length of the Goedert’s extension creating enough cap space to swallow the additional charge of $20.55 million charges to the Eagles’26 by trading Brown pre-June 1st. Just hope he’s traded to the Pats and not the Rams.

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Goedert's 3 day extension does not have to be about AJ Brown at all. It can be just about Goedert. The team wants him to stay. Allowing the contract to void would result in a $20.5 million dead cap hit. The Eagles have about $48 million in dead cap as of today. If Goedert's contract expires Monday, they will be close to $68 million. They still need to figure out Carter's extension. This couldn be more about Carter than Brown.

If AJ is traded this weekend and Goedert walks, the dead cap jumps to $111, which is 36.7% of the salary cap. That's just not happening. If Brown is traded this weekend, he still brings a dead cap hit of $43 million. Goedert's salary is going down one way or another this weekend. Its unrelated to Brown. Brown's dead cap can't be split until after June 1. If Brown is traded, it will be after that. Sorry, not this weekend.

Raccoonsuit said:

So it looks like this might happen this weekend with the goebert news

Hopefully?

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Nope. $43 million dead cap in traded before June 1. There is no way to avoid it. That would push Philly close to 1/3 of the cap is dead money for 2026. That is not happening without an incredible return, which we are not giving.

Grogan14 said:

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

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What is the point of evening being a fan with crap like this?

KamikazeKnight said:

Whatever happens, I don't want it to take until June, personally.

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Philly has no choice. Its not about what you want. Its about a $43 million dead cap hit.

Grogan14 said:

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

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I mean I think it’s a stretch to say they won’t make it again for another decade. Schedules rotate around and eventually they’ll get another schedule like that. That said it’s going to get infinitely more difficult once Gonzo and Mayes contracts kick in. So this is prime time to get that window open and take advantage. Henderson is going to have to become Dalvin Cook out of the backfield in order for this team to have a shot since they don’t have a 1000 yard WR, plus they’re going to have to invest serious draft capital on EDGE rushers and see what they can get. They need to put pressure on QBs.

But as they are constructed now, they’re a perennial playoff contender that if they get a few brakes they can make a run at it. Still better than 25 other franchises. But Drake Maye is going to have to make do with a bunch of depth WRs and try to duplicate what Brady did before Moss Gronk and Edelman came around.

imahobgoblin said:

What is the point of evening being a fan with crap like this?

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"I've already given up on the next decade, but rest assured I'll be here every day to complain about things. Because.......fun.....or something."

Grogan14 said:

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

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This has to be a troll account.

imahobgoblin said:

Nope. $43 million dead cap in traded before June 1. There is no way to avoid it. That would push Philly close to 1/3 of the cap is dead money for 2026. That is not happening without an incredible return, which we are not giving.

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I think I'm getting more confused the more I read.

I thought the reason Philly extended goeberts void thru this weekend was so they could sign him and trade aj cause his dead cap could be spread out over 2 years and this trade helps facilitate this. Cause they can't keep him and aj this year now

Maybe I'm just not getting it

JackBauer said:

This has to be a troll account.

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JackBauer said:

This has to be a troll account.

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If its not, then Grogan is one very sad dude. Or as we say in the UK "A **** stirrer"

Grogan14 said:

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

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Free tickets to the clownshow, everyone.

DoubleDeluxe said:

I know the stats.
I've watched them both play plenty.
Boutte doesn't consistently separate downfield like Pierce, he just doesn't. He can separate at times, just not consistently.
I like Boutte, like him on our team, but he won't ever be a high volume WR. Pierce was over 21 yds per in 2025, over 22 in 2024. Would be great if Boutte can get to that yds/per, but I don't see it.
I sincerely hope he proves me wrong, but I don't see him topping 1000 yds ever.
Again, hope I'm wrong.

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I hope you are too DD

Raccoonsuit said:

I think I'm getting more confused the more I read.

I thought the reason Philly extended goeberts void thru this weekend was so they could sign him and trade aj cause his dead cap could be spread out over 2 years and this trade helps facilitate this. Cause they can't keep him and aj this year now

Maybe I'm just not getting it

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Ok, let me clarify it. The Eagles pushed back the void date on Dallas Goedert’s current contract by a few days. It is basically a procedural move for salary-cap and negotiation reasons. Goedert’s current deal contains void years. If the contract officially voids, the remaining prorated bonuses immediately hit the salary cap as dead money, $20+ million. By pushing the void date from March 13 → March 16) the Eagles and Goedert get extra time to negotiate a new contract. None of this has to be related to AJ Brown.

If Brown is traded before June 1, Philly still incurs a $43 dead cap hit. That is just fact and is non-negotiable. It cannot be spread out unless he is traded after June 1 trade regardless of what is done with Goedert.

Dead cap money exists because of how signing bonuses are counted against the salary cap in the NFL. When a player signs a contract, the team usually gives a large signing bonus. The NFL salary cap rule allows the team to spread that bonus evenly over the contract, even though the player receives the cash immediately. By the end of the contract, 100% of the money paid to the player needs to be accounted for on the cap. In Brown's case, he has received $48 million in signing bonus, and trading him would relieve $5 million. The net is $43 million that has to be accounted for on the 2026 cap if traded before June 1. If traded after June 1, Philly can split it to $16.3 million in 2026 and $27.1 million to 2027. All these numbers are an estimate, but pretty close.

In Goedert’s case, he received over $20+ million in signing bonus and has already been paid. If his contract voids on March 16, Philly has to count it on the 2026 cap and he is a free agent.

Philly's Current dead Cap: $48ish million
Goedert’s Dead Cap if no deal reached: +$20 million
AJ Brown Dead Cap if traded pre June 1: $43 million
NFL Salary Cap: $301.2 million
Eagles Current Salaries: $297–$300 million with 2025 unspent rollover = $311 million. They have between $11-$14 million to spend. $5-$7 million of that will go to drafted rookies.

All of this is what makes the AJ Brown trade a nightmare. I have been contending all along that it just cannot happen pre-June 1, and even at that the stars have to align perfectly. There is this guy named Jaylen Carter who needs to be paid and is going to break the world doing it. The Eagles have a problem when the dead cap catches up, and it will. They will tank for a few years and then build back like the Rams.

Grogan14 said:

I do not see Pats WINNING a SB as long as Elliot Wolf and MIKE Vrabel are here.

Wolf lacks boldness, creativity and is risk averse

Vrabel to his credit prioritizes past experience and loyalty to players

and defense over offense.

Last year they got to SB because of Nix injury and weak schedule. Will not happen again in next decade

Vrabel very good coach average executive

Free agency and lack of needle moving trades has shown who Wolf is.

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I don't read many posts here that I think are just flat out stupid but this is definitely one of them.

Dec54 said:

If its not, then Grogan is one very sad dude. Or as we say in the UK "A **** stirrer"

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I will say you UKers have the best slang.

JackBauer said:

I will say you UKers have the best slang.

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Years of practice Jack

I think they have pushed Goedert’s void date out because if his deal voids then they take on more dead money and it becomes impossible to trade AJ Brown before June 1. On the other hand, if they extend him, they can gain a bit of cap relief and it makes it possible to trade AJ Brown. They will be left with only a little cap room (probably less than $10M at this time, I would guess) but enough to operate for the rest of the year, and there would be some small avenues to create a little more.

They certainly could wait until June, but at that point the picks become 2027 picks and they lose leverage, and the longer Brown is stuck in Philly the greater chance for drama or for him to outright demand a trade etc. I am guessing that Roseman wants 2026 picks and wants to maintain higher leverage and seize the current moment and not let it drag 2.5 months. He will take the hit on the cap in 2026 when he probably feels Sirianni is a lame duck anyway, then turn the keys over to a new HC in 2027 with a very clean cap and room to make a free agency splash, or even to move on from Hurts if they choose to.

DoubleDeluxe said:

I know the stats.
I've watched them both play plenty.
Boutte doesn't consistently separate downfield like Pierce, he just doesn't. He can separate at times, just not consistently.
I like Boutte, like him on our team, but he won't ever be a high volume WR. Pierce was over 21 yds per in 2025, over 22 in 2024. Would be great if Boutte can get to that yds/per, but I don't see it.
I sincerely hope he proves me wrong, but I don't see him topping 1000 yds ever.
Again, hope I'm wrong.

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DD I definitely hear ya brother and you make great points...I'll add that pierce has an MVP level RB in J. Taylor that makes defenses have to over committ to stop him.. that allows for pierce to have favorable match ups as he's slippery guy and has good straight line speed.. Boutte is a guy that is continuing to get better each season and has a great connection with Drake.