In a move that felt inevitable for much of this offseason, the Patriots finally made a key offensive acquisition on Monday.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the rumored trade of Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown became a reality after the club agreed to terms to bring the embattled wideout to New England.
In exchange for Brown, the deal reportedly includes a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
The deal could ultimately be tied to another offseason move for the Patriots, as the club has two fifth-round picks in 2027, one of which was acquired in the trade of former center Garrett Bradbury to the Bears earlier this offseason. Schefter reports that the Eagles will receive the better of those two selections, which will make things interesting since that one will hinge on how the season plays out both here in New England and in Chicago.
AJ Brown Trade Details
Patriots Receive:
- A.J. Brown
Eagles Receive:
- 2028 Patriots First Round Pick
- 2027 Fifth Round Pick (Patriots have 2 selections, Eagles will receive the higher of the two picks)
Meanwhile, it also reunites Brown with his former head coach, Mike Vrabel, with the veteran wideout having played under Vrabel in Tennessee. The hope is that Brown can be the dangerous threat that has been missing in the Patriots’ offense for Drake Maye, although his arrival will likely shake things up a bit for this current receiver room.
One player who remains the subject of rumors is Kayshon Boutte, who has been working away from the facility and wasn’t part of last week’s OTAs.
Boutte is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, and he seems to be the player who might be the odd man out after this trade. What his future holds is now the big question, with the club reportedly open to moving him for a 5th or 6th round selection.
One potential fit could be the Washington Commanders, with Boutte having played previously with Jayden Daniels in college at LSU. The two had success together prior to Boutte’s selection in the sixth round (187th overall) in 2023 here in New England. Another option could be Kansas City, which is still in need of some firepower on offense.
For now, Brown will be able to finally get to work as he looks to get up to speed with his new team ahead of next month’s training camp. He’s coming off his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, having caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
Brown’s addition should provide the Patriots with a viable replacement for Stefon Diggs, who the club parted ways with earlier this offseason. Diggs finished the 2025 regular season with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and 4 touchdowns.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
A key thing here is the coat in salary/cap money on the pats end. If the numbers I got off the web are correct, the pats only pay:
2026: $7m
2027:: $11m
2028: $18m
2024: $24m.
And none guaranteed. So the pats can restructure or cut Brown in two years etc with no dead monies. Philly gave brown a ton of guaranteed monies in his current contract that they owe. I assume it was all signing bonus the AJ B already received. So Philly got picks but are still paying brown in terms of cap hit.
Interesting thing not mentioned much (yet) is PHI still owes AJ B a large chunk of signing bonus monies spread across 2026. & 2027. The pats only owe brown:
2026: $7m
2027: $11m
2028: $18m
2029: $24m
None is guaranteed, so they can cut him in two years and owe nothing.
The first rounder is just a cost you pay to get talent. Many first rounders end up mediocre starters, backups or busts. Even if the Pats get two good years out of AJ Brown, it would be worth it. As for the 5th rounder, those picks are low odds of becoming a starter. The Pats will probably replace that 5th via trades or compensatory picks etc. No big deal there. The key piece where this makes sense to give up a 1st rounder for a 29 year old with some question marks on his knee(s), is that the Pats owe… Read more »