The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots on Monday, ending a season long media firestorm between the two sides.
Heading back to Philadelphia will be the Patriots 1st round pick in 2028, as well as a 2027 conditional 5th rounder. The condition attached to the pick will be that it will be the higher of New England’s two picks they own next year.
“Eagles Nation, thank you for welcoming my family and me with open arms from day one,” Brown wrote on his social media account. “This city, this locker room, and this fan base will always hold a special place in my heart.”
“To my brothers in that locker room – thank you for going to battle with me every single day. The memories we made together, on and off the field are something I’ll carry with me forever. To the coaching staff, trainers, equipment staff, cafeteria workers, and the cleaning crew – thank you for everything you do behind the scenes to keep us going. There are so many people in the building who make it possible for us to go out there and compete, and I’m grateful for all of you.”
“Playing for this city has been an honour, and I’m thankful for every moment I had in midnight green. Thank you Philly. Much love, always. God Bless.”
The soon to be 29 year old instantly upgrades the Patriots receiver room, as he figures to step into the WR1 role seamlessly with the Patriots. It also serves as a reunion of sorts with Brown and former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel reuniting in Foxborough.
While Philadelphia was reluctant to part with a star wide receiver while their window to compete remained open, the writing has been on the wall for some time that a break up was coming. Aside from the non-stop barrage of questions from the press, cryptic social media posts, and moody sideline behaviour, Philadelphia’s front office spent the better part of the offseason preparing for a post-A.J. world.
First, the team traded up in the NFL draft to select USC WR Makai Lemon. They also traded for Green Bay WR Dontayvion Wicks, and signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore as free agents to further reinforce their pass catching group. They’ll join DeVonta Smith, Johnny Wilson, Darius Cooper, and Quez Watkins for the upcoming season.
“I think that when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and having the conversations we had with him, felt like where we were, where we were going, where he was, that if we could find something that kind of achieved our goals of getting a first-round pick going forward here in the near future, getting the money back to spend on other players on our team and other teams and it was a win-win situation based on where he was and how he felt, we were open to that,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman told reporters on Monday.
By waiting until June 1st, Philadelphia is able to now split Brown’s $40M salary cap charge across the next two seasons, effectively freeing up additional cap space for the team. New England will now assume the actual money owed portion of Brown’s contract which will work out to roughly $32M per season until 2029.
The former Titan will now join Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism III in Massachusetts.
Photo: Arlington National Cemetery. This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.