ESPN Insider Shuts Down Latest Patriots Blockbuster Trade Rumor
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Posted Under: 2025 Patriots Draft
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Long-time local Patriots personality and WEEI radio host Nick “Fitzy” Stevens dropped an interesting bomb on Friday, revealing whispers he’s heard that could see an impressive player end up here in New England.
According to Stevens, a potential trade coming between the Patriots and Eagles was rumored to be happening, which would involve wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Stevens said that depending on how things unfold Thursday night, Brown could possibly end up in a Patriots uniform.
“Well, earlier today a little birdie with some really good intelligence, a well-sourced phone call, came to me to offer this possible scenario: If somebody that we wanted the Patriots to select very badly, Abdul Carter, were to fall to fourth – and I know this scenario is slightly unlikely – if he were to fall at fourth overall, how would you feel about a certain team that recently won the Super Bowl, calling up your New England Patriots, in desperation and want of Abdul Carter and offering a certain wide receiver who has admitted that he loves New England and would love to play for the Patriots and possibly more selections in a blockbuster draft day trade?” said Stevens. “That’s right, I got a call earlier today saying that the Philadelphia Eagles really, really, really want Abdul Carter and that they would consider, or rather are planning, to call your New England Patriots on draft day if Carter falls to #4 to see if Mike Vrabel would like a reunion with A.J. Brown and possibly more draft picks and compensation to come.”
“So there you go, folks. There is your latest pick #4 rumor. It is a good one and I thought I would chum the waters today for the pick #4 dialogue. A.J. Brown and more compensation possibly to the Patriots if Abdul Carter falls to #4.”
While Stevens isn’t necessarily known for breaking news, he’s also not one to put something like this out there without there being some substance to it. He’s a guy who is one of the good ones in the area, and his rise at WEEI has been quietly one of the better storylines in the media after going from someone who worked his way up at a local outlet to where he is now.
At the same time, he’s also not a “look at me” type of person, so it’s also why a report like this certainly raises some eyebrows.
It’s definitely an interesting thought, but it’s tough to say how practical it would be. Adding Brown feels like more of a luxury than a necessity, especially at that price tag. Having a first-round player on a rookie deal is incredibly valuable in today’s NFL. The Patriots are also badly bereft of talent, and they need to continue building out their young core of players, especially while Drake Maye is on his own rookie deal. Needless to say, the only way it would make sense would be if the draft haul was signficant.
For the Eagles, they’re also likely trying to make sure they have a group of players who are all pulling in the right direction. Brown has reportedly expressed frustration with his role in the offense, especially given the amount of targets he’s been splitting with DeVonta Smith. It’s not known how the front office feels about it, or whether or not it’s truly become a serious issue. If it is the latter, that would seemingly be the only reason they would be open to moving on from the 27-year-old (and soon-to-be 28-year-old) at this point of his current deal.
However, the biggest issue that might hold up a deal like this would be Brown’s contract. Based on the numbers from Spotrac, the Eagles would incur a dead cap hit of nearly $90 million, which would seemingly impede the deal from being consummated. He’s essentially in the second year of a 3-year, $96 million extension he signed last April.
Still, that hasn’t stopped local Philadelphia radio from talking about the possibility of moving the veteran wideout. WIP broached the topic on Friday, running a poll about whether or not fans would want the club to trade Brown for a top five draft pick.
According to the results, fans aren’t keen on seeing Brown traded. Out of 4,785 votes, 85.6% voted overwhelmingly “no.” The ones who feel he should be moved believe that the Eagles are invested too heavily on offense and that things are going to come back around from that standpoint financially, and they’d rather see more of an investment on defense.
What’s interesting is that co-host Joe Giglio essentially laid out the same scenario Stevens did, and he feels the Eagles should pull the trigger on the deal if the opportunity is there.
“I would trade A.J. Brown for a top five pick if Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter are on the board,” said Giglio. “If they’re on the board when they get up on the draft when the Eagles call a particular team – like if those guys slip past the first two or three picks and let’s say the Patriots are on the board at #4. We know the A.J. Brown stuff there, Vrabel, they need a receiver, if that’s a possibility, I would trade A.J. Brown.”
When the topic of the dead money came up, fellow host Hugh Douglas dismissed the cap hit, arguing that teams are willing to take a hit like that in the right situation. He noted the move when the club parted ways with Carson Wentz and sustained a near $40 million hit. However, producer Kyle Quinn pointed out that the situation with Brown hasn’t exactly reached the point of no return. In his mind – at least publicly – things haven’t seemed to reach the degree where it feels like he’s a significant issue, and certainly not one worthy of sustaining a hit of that magnitude. He believes Brown would need to be a huge problem, big enough to give them a reason to incur a hit that massive, and he just doesn’t believe it makes sense.
“You do that with a player like … the Browns would take the cap hit with Deshaun Watson if they could,” said Quinn. “Shouldn’t that be a last resort? We’re not at last resort with with A.J. Brown.”
Still, Douglas feels that Brown is one of just two players on the roster – the other being Jalen Carter – worthy enough of garnering a top five pick, and if the Eagles can get that, they definitely should.
Meanwhile, Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal appeared on WEEI following the report and offered his thoughts. He doesn’t feel that a deal like that makes sense.
“My reaction would be I’m still not totally sure why Philadelphia would do that, considering the plethora of bodies they have coming off the edge to begin with,” said Giardi. “But, look, there’s definitely been some smoke around A.J., and we know he wasn’t particularly enthralled over the course of last season because of his usage and because of the quarterback play. So, I mean, you can never rule any of that stuff out. We get closer and closer to the draft, I think you’re going to hear more and more stuff come out, whether it’s strictly rumors, or leaks, or whatever. But usually as we get closer and closer to the draft, it starts to pick up, for sure.”
Maybe the idea behind the leak to Stevens is to let teams know the Patriots are open to making a move for the right price should Carter slip through at #4. Or maybe things are worse in Philly than they’re letting on.
But for now, Philadelphia appears set on shutting this discussion down. Adam Schefter reported on Monday that the Eagles are not trading Brown.
“Contrary to internet speculation, the Eagles are not trading A.J. Brown. The star wide receiver signed a three-year extension a year ago this week,” Schefter wrote in a piece for ESPN+. Schefter dropped that tidbit among his final notes, ending it with one sentence. That seemingly slams the door of any further speculation when it comes to where Brown might be playing in 2025.
As Giardi said, we’ll likely hear more chatter as we get closer to draft night. Mike Vrabel essentially said the same thing last week, telling reporters that most teams making serious inquiries about trades tend to do it the week leading up to the draft.
As a result, we’ll see if anything does ultimately come to fruition involving any other possible big trades heading into Thursday night. Or maybe the club will simply continue pondering its options with the #4 overall selection.
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