PATRIOTS NEWS OFFICIAL: Patriots Finally Acquire AJ Brown

[1960Pats]

That was a real eye opener for me. I didn't realize that he grew up a Pats fan.

 

[patfanken]

The Athletic has a good article in AJB’s single standout area, how much he makes defenses pay in man coverage… I.e., how to make it an offense that defenses respect/fear. It kind of answers the question of what else he brings to make us better, other than being a little younger than Diggs.

Glad you brought this up. It is a key point. Brown's physical style and exceptional hands make him one of the best WR's in the league against man coverage based on the stats I've seen here. Diggs was the best at it for the Pats last season, but Brown is a lot better and you can set the difference in that clip of his 2025 catches. A part of the reason the Pats offense struggled that isn't mentioned much is that their WR's had trouble getting open against tight man coverages.

I read another interesting stat that goes against all the "chronic knee" conversations. IIRC Brown ended up missing just 8 ga, mes over the course of his 4-year Philly career. Let's face it, his knees may be problematic, but they aren't keeping him off the field.

BTW- If Howie wants to claim he got 1st round value for Brown, he needed to receive a 2026 first round pick and not wait 2 full seasons before he can claim it. Plus there seems to be more evidence that that pick will likely end up being a late round pick (after 25) and we also know that there can be wildly different talent levels in that first round. At least 2 levels and sometimes even 3. Yet we gave up a 1, but it's more likely that not that we will have also added a top 8 talent at WR that we don't have to wait 2-3 years to develop into his potential.

The fact that I'm sitting here typing and the only think I can think to ***** about is a 27 5th rounder kind of tells you that this was a pretty good deal.

BTW- for the "we were bidding against ourselves" crowd, consider this, Suppose he HAD played hard ball with Howie and didn't budge off the 27 2nd and 4 or a player kind of deal, Howie could have easily said to us, "**** you, if that is what the market is then I'll just trade him to the Bills LAC, or Jets for that price or less. Don't **** with me" Remember the issue with other teams was the pick price as well as the knees. So all we could crow about then would be what a good job we did lowering the price for some other team.

 

[JMC00]

Puca Nacua was a 4,5+ guy, so was the Seattle WR, so are Kupp and JSN is no speed merchant. Having a great 40 time is no guarantee of being a good WR. Besides going from 21 to 28 doesn't age you out of the game. Your smarter, you know how to disguise your moves better, you know your opponents better, you know the details of your offense better, etc

40 time has zero correlation to a WR being good. In fact one could argue it means they won't be good as an NFL WR. Only thing a fast 40 time will do for a guy is probably keep him on rosters until his speed noticeably goes


Just look at the top 10 all time 40s at the combine

 

[Huckleberry1]

I'd add bad attitude

His " bad atttitude" was because they were practicing an offensive game plan all week and on game day Hurts ignored it and did what he wanted to. But at least Captain KKK agrees with you.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Didn’t know much about AJ. Knowing the deep love he has for Vrabel and the Pats makes for a feel good story.
He is soft spoken with a likable personality.

 

[scott99]

Didn’t know much about AJ. Knowing the deep love he has for Vrabel and the Pats makes for a feel good story.
He is soft spoken with a likable personality.

I like how he said the trade to the Pats was like Christmas. People in the media have been saying it would be a perfect fit, probably since last year. I agree with that. I think it’s gonna be awesome.

 

[ViperGTS]

That interview wasn't done today, or even yesterday would be my guess. This has been done for weeks. Anyways he has passed his physical and will be at OTA today.

 

[Rob0729]

Bedard: Patriots go all in on Mike Vrabel in trade for A.J. Brown, and other thoughts on the long-awaited deal

The only thing we're not certain about is whether the Patriots will restructure Brown's contract. We did get some comments from Eagles general manager Howie Roseman today since he spoke with Eagles reporters. We'll hear from Mike Vrabel and Patriots offensive coaches before practice on Tuesday...

www.bostonsportsjournal.com

"The Patriots acquired a player who is physically declining, has a knee that required drainage twice a week on the way to the Eagles' Super Bowl victory (and scared off other teams), was a malcontent on one of the best teams in the league, and alienated his quarterback to the point that the Eagles wanted to move on from Brown."


I hope to hell that was a one time thing. Why did Bedard or anyone NOT say this beforehand. I dunno time will tell on this deal. Get out a year early for Roseman?

I have seen a couple of people who claim to be doctors (take it for what it worth) online say that draining of the knee isn't usually about a long term injury/knee issues, but a current injury that needs to managed during a season where he cannot rest it.

It is well known that Brown had to have his knee drained. I have several Eagles fan friends who knew this at the time he was doing it.

Brown had to pass a physical today before the trade was done. I am sure that Wolf demanded that the Pats got all of Brown's medical information from the Eagles before they made this trade.

The knee may or may not become an issue, but we have seen plenty of players with medical red flags where it never really became a huge issue. Look at Gronk. He dropped to the second round because many teams thought he was going to have a very short and injury prone career because of his back issues. His back was never really the issue when he missed significant time or saw decline in play with the Patriots. He missed time due to injuries with other parts of his body. He had multiple back surgeries in the offseason, but it didn't really affect his career itself. He did retire in 2019 in part because of his fourth back surgery, but I think that was more of an excuse since I think he was just miserable with his situation after the Pats tried to trade him and the the friction with Brady and Belichick.

 

[RobertWeathers]

His " bad atttitude" was because they were practicing an offensive game plan all week and on game day Hurts ignored it and did what he wanted to. But at least Captain KKK agrees with you.

Yep. We need to discount the "attitude" stuff. The OC they had last year was an unimaginative idiot. Yes, Hurts was allowed to ad-lib which really caused problems with the offense. Talk to the knowledgeable Iggles fans. They'll say the same thing.

I do think AJ kinda threw in the towel during the playoff game but it never should have gotten to that point.

 

[JMC00]

I watched Curran and Perry talking about the trade. Perry thinks a 28 1st is a mistake and that the Pat's would be better off with the pick two years from now than AJB.

My rebuttal to that is it appears there is this perception that the Pats will improve above and beyond other teams by virtue of their first round picks, when in reality, in today's NFL virtually all teams improve through the draft every year. This hypothetical 2028 likely late round pick has been romanticized as "The" missing piece. Just hold tight until then Drake. 2028 will be the year we make a run.

Whole pre-season last year Perry was saying the Diggs signing was bad. Now of course he'll say this is bad. Meanwhile he's one of the people that would be complaining about how they don't have a true #1 WR

 

[Rob0729]

FWIW, I have two friend who are Eagles fans and both of them are upset that the Pats got the best of the trade. They both point to the Waddle trade and they felt that should have been the bar for a trade for Brown. They believe Brown is better than Waddle and deserved more in trade compensation. Neither are happy with the trade.

And both guys tend to be Howie Roseman fanboys. So it was surprising that they didn't praise Roseman for getting a first rounder even if it was in 2028 like most of the Roseman fanboys are doing online and in the media.

 

[hornetfb85]

I had a good day. I paid for lessons over the winter from a guy who used to play in the Yankees triple A. I don't stride properly into the swing. Seems like a minor thing but I commonly step out or in too much because I am trying to comp for the ball being inside or outside. I have to always stride the same and throw my hands forward differently to comp. Very hard for me to learn. Thanks for asking.

Make sure and keep the hands back, maintain balance, and squish the bug

 

[Rob0729]

I watched Curran and Perry talking about the trade. Perry thinks a 28 1st is a mistake and that the Pat's would be better off with the pick two years from now than AJB.

My rebuttal to that is it appears there is this perception that the Pats will improve above and beyond other teams by virtue of their first round picks, when in reality, in today's NFL virtually all teams improve through the draft every year. This hypothetical 2028 likely late round pick has been romanticized as "The" missing piece. Just hold tight until then Drake. 2028 will be the year we make a run.

Perry has spent the last month saying that the Patriots would trade a 2028 first and get compensation back like a late round pick for a trade. So he cannot go back on his stance that the Pats would not have to give up a first round pick even in 2028 without compensation. But he did say he was fine with giving up the 2028 first. Just not without another pick coming back.

I give Perry credit for not flip flopping on his stance like many media talking heads do. But I still think he may be taking his stance too far because he was wrong about his prediction.

 

[JMC00]

Of course its a risk, that is why AJB was available in the first place. No one is trading us Chase or Jefferson, cause they don't have any risks associated with them and hence no GM in their right mind would try to get rid of them

Neither of them are available because they don't want out

Brown wanted out

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, it is a class move by Brown to switch his number to 1. Edelman was one of his favorite WRs. So it is clear that he didn't want to take Edelman's number with the Patriots out of respect.

 

[sb1]

f course its a risk, that is why AJB was available in the first place. No one is trading us Chase or Jefferson, cause they don't have any risks associated with them and hence no GM in their right mind would try to get rid of them.

I'm sure the Vikings will be happy to trade us Jefferson for the right price. Which probably is Drake Maye.

 

[neuronet]

Love it. Our offense was weak in the postseason. We have made crazy strides to fix it.

Let’s go punch Seattle in the mouth.

 

[RxJock1120]

I'm sure the Vikings will be happy to trade us Jefferson for the right price. Which probably is Drake Maye.

Yes, anyone can be acquired if you are willing to trade everyone on the team PLUS every draft pick you will ever have. But lets come back down to earth.

 

[Urgent]

A.J. Brown Surprisingly Low Patriots' Cap Hit Simplified | NESN

Here's how much A.J. Brown will cost New England after the trade.

nesn.com

This was posted as support for the Patriots NOT responsible for Brown’s $53 void year cap hit.
I don’t believe that’s correct.
I believe the Patriots are responsible for that cap hit.

Evan points out that the Patriots are responsible for $27M in cash this year. He notes that they can defer $20M of it. But they cannot ignore it. Any sum paid must be accounted for, either now or in the future.

He notes, as many have that the cap hits for Brown are $7M and $10M the next two years, and that “New England can get out relatively scot-free in 2028, having only paid Brown $49 million total for two seasons, but would have that $49 million spread out over several years. ”

$49M is not 7 + 10M. The difference is the spread out annual option bonuses.
They would owe him around $24.5M per year over the first two years.

They will carry the $53M void year dead cap charge.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

What I am seeing is a lot of people pushing things to one extreme or the other trying to make their point stick, whereas we simply don't know where things will go.

Not to pick on these people in particular, but:



Well, yeah, if you can guarantee two super bowl appearances most teams would be glad to give away a first two years from now and a fifth.

Also:



Three WR1 years with deep playoff runs each season for a first and a fifth, sure, sign me up.

On the other extreme:



Fleeced, you say?

Personally I think two strong WR1 seasons is about the most we can expect, and playoffs/SBs are outside of the discussion because it's a team sport. And that is quite a reasonable ask, presuming his health is solid. By year 3, I suspect either his attitude or his knees or his overall body will fade. Hopefully he's still a serviceable WR without too bad an attitude and we can get a decent Year 3, and then we'll have to figure out how to take the big lump sum that the voidable years will require.

Compare/contrast to keeping the first and the fifth. The first is a lotto pick. It could be great, or it could be a bust, or something in between. The one thing you do know about it is that it is five years of a controlled salary, without the big bang of voidable years hanging over your head. If you miss, the pain of missing isn't a lot. Yet if AJB has significant health issues, you are still on the hook for a WR1 salary and still get to take the end-of-contract cap hit. And the fifth is a player too. We have three 5th rounders from this draft in camp, at least one seems like they'll make the team. They can also be used in trades, as Philly just showed.

To me, we win the trade if AJB is a strong WR1 for at least two seasons, stays healthy so doesn't miss many games, has a good attitude, and helps Maye develop. We lose the trade if AJB can't deliver that for whatever reason. It looks even worse if that first rounder ends up being a stud, and even worse if Howie hits on the fifth rounder too, but like I said, it's a lotto situation so no one can say.

All good points, but I don't see How Philly hitting on the picks makes any difference.
There is no guarantee the 1st and 5th players they could potentially hit on are the guys we would have taken, in fact it's highly unlikely.
Maybe the crux of the argument is really how people perceive our current roster.
Are we a contender or not?
For me that's and emphatic yes. Others don't think so, I can't wrap my head around how they come to that conclusion.
So we are a contender.
Yes.
Does AJ make us better today?
Yes.
Does AJ make us better in 2027?
Yes.
A contending team with the 2 main ingredients to stay that way, QB and Coaching staff.
This deal should really be a no brainer.
But of course the naysayers think a 2028 1st in the second half of the round is too much to give up.