Philadelphia Eagles Trade A.J. Brown to New England Patriots

The Philadelphia Eagles have traded A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots. 

Philadelphia is getting a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, which is the better of New England's two fifths.

Brown and the Eagles agreed to a three-year, $96 million extension in April 2024. The Super Bowl champion, though, has no guaranteed money on his current deal after 2026.

One of the best receivers in the NFL, Brown had 78 catches for 1,003 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns last season. 

A three-time Pro Bowler, Brown had been with the Eagles since 2022. He put up 339 receptions for 5,034 receiving yards and 32 receiving touchdowns in a Philadelphia uniform and helped the franchise beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Brown has 8,029 receiving yards and 56 receiving touchdowns in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans and Eagles. He was heavily linked to the Patriots because Mike Vrabel coached him in Tennessee.

The Eagles won the NFC East last season but lost to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the wild-card round of the 2026 playoffs. During the game, Nick Sirianni and Brown got into a heated exchange on the sideline. Brown had two drops, tying a career high, and declined to speak to the media postgame.

Brown finished the Eagles-49ers game with three catches for 25 yards on seven targets. Philadelphia fans booed him after his second drop in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Hurts and Brown had been close for some time, dating back to when Hurts hosted Brown during a recruiting visit to Alabama. Hurts is even the godfather to Brown's daughter.

However, Brandon Graham suggested in the latter stages of the 2024 season that the relationship between Hurts and Brown had frayed. Though Hurts and Brown downplayed it, a team source told ESPN that word began circulating within the organization around that time that things "weren't good" between the QB and WR. 

"Picked the right question to sip [my water] on, huh?" Hurts joked after being asked what a Brown trade would mean both for him and the team. For us, we're only focused on learning the offense. It really doesn't change in terms of our approach to improve. There's an 'if' -- obviously it's been a lingering thing, but nothing can replace all of the greatness that we achieved together."

The Brown saga is now over in Philadelphia. We can stop talking about it now. 

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