Wide receiver A.J. Brown grew up as a passionate New England Patriots fan. While admitting that a few years ago, he also revealed that he ‘cried his eyes out’ in the 2019 Draft when the Patriots passed on him and selected N’Keal Harry instead. Even after all of that, he went on to earn a Pro Bowl with the Tennessee Titans and then won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Now, after a tumultuous 2025 season, the Patriots have emerged as a primary suitor for the star receiver.

“What I’ve gathered is he wants to be traded, but I also think he wants to be traded to specific places,” Former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles said while speaking with NFL sportscaster Jeff Skversky. “I think New England would make a lot of sense because of his history with [Mike Vrabel]… I think he even said he grew up a Patriots fan, so that would be a two-fold situation.”

Interestingly enough, just a few weeks ago, Foles predicted an 80% chance that Brown stays in Philly. But in this short time, he seems to have received enough evidence for those odds to be 50-50 now.

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Not to forget, Brown called his last season with the Birds a “sh** show”. Even back during January’s Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Brown and head coach Nick Sirianni got face-to-face on the sideline mid-game, heated enough for Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro to step in and separate them. 

Meanwhile, New England has already made its move once. Per Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard, the Patriots have offered around a second-round pick for Brown.

But the Eagles want a first, a second, and a player. The gap is wide, but the Eagles are also negotiating with a deadline. A trade before June 1 carries a $43 million dead cap hit. After June 1, that drops down to $16 million. Every franchise knows this, and Philly’s leverage shrinks the longer this drags on.

The Los Angeles Rams were also in the market for A.J. Brown at one point. But the question of where this trade happens at last connects directly to whether New England is the team that actually makes it work.

Why AJ Brown makes sense for the New England Patriots

When Tennessee decided to part ways with A.J. Brown in 2022, coach Mike Vrabel was the vocal opposition fighting to keep Brown with the Titans. Years later, at the 2026 NFL Combine this offseason, coach Vrabel revealed that the two have remained in contact over the years and also praised Brown.

“I think the relationship with players, and specifically what was asked about AJ, has meant a lot,” Vrabel said. “I’ve watched him grow; I’ve watched him mature. I’m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I’m proud of the husband. And that has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played.”

When asked if a trade is possible to bring Brown to New England, Vrabel didn’t say yes outright but noted that he’d get all the players he can who can help the team win. But even without that hint, the Patriots’ receiver room is a problem they haven’t fully admitted yet.

New England cut Stefon Diggs because of his cap hit and off-field legal issues. They replaced him with Romeo Doubs on a four-year, $68 million deal. But one anonymous NFL executive told the Athletic that Doubs wasn’t the answer. 

“I was not high on Doubs.” The executive noted. “They did not improve on the field from Diggs. Maybe they did off the field from a headache standpoint. It seems just a matter of waiting until June 1 passes for Philly to trade AJ Brown, who, in my opinion, is a declining player each of the last three seasons.”

The standard pushback on Brown is his age and his knee. At 29-years-old, the Rams just looked at his medicals and decided to give up. That concern is legitimate but Brown still posted 78 catches, 1,003 yards, and seven touchdowns in 2025.

And that was in a broken situation, with a coach he was fighting with, during a season he hated. Doubs’ production still hasn’t shown that he can match that. And New England quarterback Drake Maye needs a true WR1 if he doesn’t want to stumble in the Super Bowl again.

And A.J. Brown? He fits. The kid who waited for that draft-night call in 2019 and never got it now has a direct line to Foxborough. And the people close to him are saying he wants to take it.