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

imahobgoblin · Mar 14, 2026

ralmat55 said:
Then why hasn’t Goedert been extended already? Why extend the void deadline twice? They must be in agreement pending something. Until Brown is traded, there’s no guarantee he will be. It’s a good WR draft. Maybe, real interest in Brown disappears after the draft. The Eagles have no cap cushion because of the option bonus structure the use. Simple restructures aren’t an option. The obvious reason is the Eagles need to move Brown before committing money to Goedert and still have cap space to sign their rookie class and make it through the end of the rule of 51, inevitable injuries and practice squad.

Because 1) They want Goedert back at their price; 2) Goedert wants his price; 3) They keep getting closer and are making progress. If they don't, the Eagles get nailed with $20M in dead cap. They will do everything they can to avoid it. They don't need to trade Brown at all. That is your insertion. If he is traded before June 1, its still at $43M hit. Do you understand the Eagles currently have about $48M in dead cap and trading Brown would bring it to $91M??? That is ridiculous and not going to happen. The other contracts that need adjusting will bring it over $100M. Thats 1/3 of the cap. Its not going to happen.

SlowGettingUp · Mar 14, 2026

imahobgoblin said:
They don't need to trade Brown at all.

Can they really pay both Brown and Goedert? They'd have to restructure Hurts at the very least.

Huckleberry1 · Mar 14, 2026

VJCPatriot said:
The Rams didn't lose the Superbowl because they lacked WRs. If anything they should be investing in that defense.

Giving away high picks when you already have 2 of the best receivers in the league would be silly. Puka Nakua alone put up an incredible 1,715 yards and 10 TDs.

Let's also factor in that the Rams will be direct competitors to the Eagles in the NFC and I think this trade is less likely as long as the Patriots don't get completely blown out of the water in terms of trade compensation.

I agree, it makes no sense for the Rams to be in on this, and it makes no sense for the Eagles to deal him to a team they will be competing in the NFC playoffs with. I think the Rams talk is just smoke.

rabidfireweasel · Mar 14, 2026

Give Kraft A Hand said:
This is where I’m at. I’m already moved on to the reality that Boutte is the Pats WR1 this season or Doubs, none of the WRs will sniff 1000 yards and Drake Maye will have to have a repeat of his MVP caliber season for them to get the 3rd or 4th seed.

I expect AJ to either be an Eagle or a Ram.

I am not sure anyone would disagree- it’s not edgy. Drake Maye will need to play very well for them to win their division. No one thinks he can be pretty good and have them ahead of the Bills. That’s just silly. They player a harder schedule this year- they could both have better play and a worse record.

If Doubs and Boutte are both between 750 and 950 yards, they could outpace NE’s top two wr’s combined from last year team - and have a similar offense receiving and a better offense blocking. Given that Drake Maye has not yet been the most effective cold weather player, improving the running game for December and January seems essential for a team that has the goal to host home playoff games.

Real fan 02 · Mar 15, 2026

PatsWickedPissah said:
Didn't Brown sorta vanish in January a la Diggs? Couple key drops in last game.

Wozzy · Mar 15, 2026

imahobgoblin said:
Because 1) They want Goedert back at their price; 2) Goedert wants his price; 3) They keep getting closer and are making progress. If they don't, the Eagles get nailed with $20M in dead cap. They will do everything they can to avoid it. They don't need to trade Brown at all. That is your insertion. If he is traded before June 1, its still at $43M hit. Do you understand the Eagles currently have about $48M in dead cap and trading Brown would bring it to $91M??? That is ridiculous and not going to happen. The other contracts that need adjusting will bring it over $100M. Thats 1/3 of the cap. Its not going to happen.

The Philadelphia Eagles are better served to wait until after June 1 to trade A.J. Brown, due to significant salary cap implications. If the Eagles trade Brown before June 1, they would incur a dead cap hit of approximately $43 million in 2026. However, waiting until after June 1 reduces that hit to $16.4 million, spreading the remainder into 2027. This strategic delay allows the Eagles to free up over $7 million in immediate cap space for the 2026 season, which can be used to address other roster needs or re-sign key players.

From a team-building perspective, waiting also gives the Eagles leverage to secure better trade compensation, as teams may be more willing to offer future draft capital (e.g., 2027 picks) once the 2026 draft concludes. While the Eagles miss out on acquiring 2026 draft picks by waiting, the financial flexibility gained outweighs that loss, especially with decisions pending on other high-salary players like tight end Dallas Goedert.

And no, the Eagles don’t have to trade Brown, but they also don’t want to play another season with a high priced distraction on the team. So in that regard, they do…

The Gr8est · Mar 15, 2026

Wozzy said:
The Philadelphia Eagles are better served to wait until after June 1 to trade A.J. Brown, due to significant salary cap implications. If the Eagles trade Brown before June 1, they would incur a dead cap hit of approximately $43 million in 2026. However, waiting until after June 1 reduces that hit to $16.4 million, spreading the remainder into 2027. This strategic delay allows the Eagles to free up over $7 million in immediate cap space for the 2026 season, which can be used to address other roster needs or re-sign key players.

From a team-building perspective, waiting also gives the Eagles leverage to secure better trade compensation, as teams may be more willing to offer future draft capital (e.g., 2027 picks) once the 2026 draft concludes. While the Eagles miss out on acquiring 2026 draft picks by waiting, the financial flexibility gained outweighs that loss, especially with decisions pending on other high-salary players like tight end Dallas Goedert.

And no, the Eagles don’t have to trade Brown, but they also don’t want to play another season with a high priced distraction on the team. So in that regard, they do…

I have heard that the 2027 draft is one that has been highly anticipated as being very strong. I don’t want to trade any 2027 picks and would like to acquire more, as we did for Garrett Bradbury, but I am not as enamored with Brown as some others, and he could easily turn out to be a trade we wish we didn’t make.

Pats are very competitive right now, and 2026 is a strong draft for WR.

As for the Pats not being good at drafting WR, that was under the old regime, and last year’s FA and draft was outstanding.

I say give them a shot.

Water Boy · Mar 15, 2026

The Gr8est said:
I have heard that the 2027 draft is one that has been highly anticipated as being very strong. I don’t want to trade any 2027 picks and would like to acquire more...

Pats are very competitive right now, and 2026 is a strong draft for WR.

Those are some good points. I've heard it speculated that it would take a 2027 2 and 4 to land Brown.

I don't think you can bank on any of the X receivers in our range in this draft to be immediate impact players.

There is strong indication that they are dialed in for a DE in the first round.

If the Pats do land Brown I would think Boutte might get dealt. Not sure how he, Dobbs and Brown fit together- or do they?

Wonder if the Pats might consider trading one of there 4th this year for a 2027 pick to help facilitate the Brown deal.

Give Kraft A Hand · Mar 15, 2026

rabidfireweasel said:
I am not sure anyone would disagree- it’s not edgy. Drake Maye will need to play very well for them to win their division. No one thinks he can be pretty good and have them ahead of the Bills. That’s just silly. They player a harder schedule this year- they could both have better play and a worse record.

If Doubs and Boutte are both between 750 and 950 yards, they could outpace NE’s top two wr’s combined from last year team - and have a similar offense receiving and a better offense blocking. Given that Drake Maye has not yet been the most effective cold weather player, improving the running game for December and January seems essential for a team that has the goal to host home playoff games.

I think It’s extremely optimistic to say Boutte or Doubs have 900 yards at the end of the season. More likely than not they’re around 700-800. Doubs being more of a sure bet than Boutte. The problem with the market is that only one person who is considered a WR1 is available and the Eagles are most likely not trading him here. The answer is going to have to come from the development of Williams and Henderson in order to show growth on the offense and move it forward. I mean Doubs is younger than Diggs and is his replacement but with less production but a higher upside than 32 year old Diggs.

I just feel next year without any real changes is going to be more of the same once this team goes up against top defenses. Hopefully Williams can emerge as the number 1 at some point since I would gather he has the most upside/untapped potential. But they also need to get better with yards after the catch too.

borisman · Mar 15, 2026

PatsWickedPissah said:
Didn't Brown sorta vanish in January a la Diggs? Couple key drops in last game.

He definitely dropped a couple of easy, long passes.

borisman · Mar 15, 2026

I know some people are sick of hearing about it but there were a couple of tweets I saw where A.J. Brown told Roseman to "get me out of here before the draft".
I know I'm sick of hearing about it as well and the discussion has been beat to death. We just need something to happen so we can move on with the comments.

Rob0729 · Mar 15, 2026

Looks like the Rams were going to trade Adams if they traded for Brown. Adams’ roster bonus is due today which makes them trading Adams more unlikely. It also means it is less likely they will be in for Brown if trade talks heat up again.

As Rams considered trading for A.J. Brown, they explored trading Davante Adams

The Rams recently had trade talks with the Eagles for receiver A.J.

www.nbcsports.com

JoeSixPat · Mar 15, 2026

While I think we all expected any AJ Brown trade talk to cool off given that it's been widely reported that the Eagles would wait until June 1 - but they may have played themselves if the Rams really tapped out.

Honestly I'm fine with our WR corps without Brown but given the amount of cap space we have, it does seem like they're getting for a June deal

I'd say that the Eagles ability to get a ransom for him in terms of draft picks in 2027 may decline by then especially if a good WR drops our way in the draft

Some see an A.J. Brown trade as inevitable

The Rams were in it, we're told, but they've tapped out.

www.nbcsports.com

Give Kraft A Hand · Mar 15, 2026

JoeSixPat said:
While I think we all expected any AJ Brown trade talk to cool off given that it's been widely reported that the Eagles would wait until June 1 - but they may have played themselves if the Rams really tapped out.

Honestly I'm fine with our WR corps without Brown but given the amount of cap space we have, it does seem like they're getting for a June deal

I'd say that the Eagles ability to get a ransom for him in terms of draft picks in 2027 may decline by then especially if a good WR drops our way in the draft

Some see an A.J. Brown trade as inevitable

The Rams were in it, we're told, but they've tapped out.

www.nbcsports.com

The June 1st thing was kind of shot down. It has more to do with Goederts contract guarantee than that. They would have to wait till June 1st if they cut Goedert. At least that’s what I read. If they trade AJ before June 1st and cut him then they wouldn’t have enough to sign their rookie class etc…but if they trade AJ and restructure Goedert they’d be okay.

crownontherocks · Mar 15, 2026

Rob0729 · Mar 15, 2026

crownontherocks said:

The question is whether this helps the Eagles trade for an edge rusher (Greenard or Josh Sweat) or trade away AJ Brown.

imahobgoblin · Mar 15, 2026

SlowGettingUp said:
Can they really pay both Brown and Goedert? They'd have to restructure Hurts at the very least.

Very easy to do. Year one is a low salary with big signing bonus spread over the term. Its what they always do. It will catch up.

Wozzy said:
The Philadelphia Eagles are better served to wait until after June 1 to trade A.J. Brown, due to significant salary cap implications. If the Eagles trade Brown before June 1, they would incur a dead cap hit of approximately $43 million in 2026. However, waiting until after June 1 reduces that hit to $16.4 million, spreading the remainder into 2027. This strategic delay allows the Eagles to free up over $7 million in immediate cap space for the 2026 season, which can be used to address other roster needs or re-sign key players.

From a team-building perspective, waiting also gives the Eagles leverage to secure better trade compensation, as teams may be more willing to offer future draft capital (e.g., 2027 picks) once the 2026 draft concludes. While the Eagles miss out on acquiring 2026 draft picks by waiting, the financial flexibility gained outweighs that loss, especially with decisions pending on other high-salary players like tight end Dallas Goedert.

And no, the Eagles don’t have to trade Brown, but they also don’t want to play another season with a high priced distraction on the team. So in that regard, they do…

I have explained Brown's cap impact 30 times in this thread alone. You don't need to explain it to me. I am the first of this board to explain it and keep repeating it while no one wants to listen.

The Eagles do want to play another season with Brown under a new OC. It was part of the interview for hiring Sean Mannion. They asked what he would do with AJ, and they liked what they heard. They are willing to keep him if they cannot get their asking price. That's whats happening so far.

The Gr8est · Mar 15, 2026

imahobgoblin said:
Very easy to do. Year one is a low salary with big signing bonus spread over the term. Its what they always do. It will catch up.

I have explained Brown's cap impact 30 times in this thread alone. You don't need to explain it to me. I am the first of this board to explain it and keep repeating it while no one wants to listen.

The Eagles do want to play another season with Brown under a new OC. It was part of the interview for hiring Sean Mannion. They asked what he would do with AJ, and they liked what they heard. They are willing to keep him if they cannot get their asking price. That's whats happening so far.

I am fine with the Eagles keeping Brown and the Pats moving on.

Too much risk for too much compensation.

Give Kraft A Hand · Mar 15, 2026

Rob0729 said:
The question is whether this helps the Eagles trade for an edge rusher (Greenard or Josh Sweat) or trade away AJ Brown.

Numbers wise according to a few Eagles guys is that it was either Goedert or Brown but not both numbers wise.

So this might mean something is coming tonight or tomorrow.

imahobgoblin · Mar 15, 2026

The Gr8est said:
I am fine with the Eagles keeping Brown and the Pats moving on.

Too much risk for too much compensation.

Agreed

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