The New England Patriots are expected to make a blockbuster trade in the summer.
NFL execs expect the New England Patriots to make a blockbuster trade in June, per The Athletic.
The prevailing thought in the league is that the Patriots will trade for Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown this summer.
"Execs expect the Patriots to acquire receiver A.J. Brown from Philadelphia in June, once the salary-cap implications become more tenable for the Eagles."
The Eagles are expected to trade Brown in June because Brown's dead-money hit would be lowered from $40 million to $20 million.
Brown had 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2025 regular season. He and QB Jalen Hurts weren't on the same page at all and their relationship is reportedly not good anymore.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel coached Brown on the Tennessee Titans. Brown has 8,029 receiving yards and 56 touchdowns in the NFL with the Titans and Eagles. He won the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025.
During an episode of the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with former Patriots stars Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, Brown said he used to hate Vrabel, who led New England to the Super Bowl last season against the Seattle Seahawks.
However, time has healed those wounds.
"Vrabe is the type of coach that he's going to call on you in the meetings," Brown said. "He wants to make sure you're staying engaged and he's going to go over the keys to victory of the week. You better know them by the back of your hand. I used to write in my notebook because at the time, I really didn't like Vrabes. I didn't like him, and I admit that he knows that. So, I used to write, 'I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes.' I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged.
"But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie and I really didn't understand it. So, at the time I told Vrabes like, 'Hey, like I'm humble already. You don't got to humble me.' But I really didn't understand what he was trying to, you know, push me to be."
The Patriots parted ways with Stefon Diggs and signed Romeo Doubs this offseason. If they add Brown, the offense could be very elite next season.
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