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The Philadelphia Eagles wanted to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown and on Monday did just that. Call that the NFL’s worst kept secret the past six months.
Brown is going to the New England Patriots to reunite with his former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who now coaches the Patriots. Brown’s new team was the second-worst-kept secret in the NFL the past few months Vrabel loved Brown when they were together in Nashville.
The Eagles announced they have agreed to send Brown to New England in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection. The compensation package was decided early Monday.
Hallelujah, something we didn’t already know!
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Brown will need to pass a physical in order for the deal to be finalized. That hasn’t always been an easy thing, as Maxx Crosby and the Baltimore Ravens proved earlier this offseason, so this isn’t done, done until that physical is passed, passed.
The reason everyone knew this was going to happen is, well, the signs were unmistakable.
Brown hasn’t been happy in Philly for a while.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown warms up during training camp at NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 24, 2025. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)
Philly hasn’t been happy that Brown let his unhappiness bleed onto his cryptic social media posts and sometimes even his effort on the field.
And in Foxborough, Mass., Vrabel really wanted his former player to fill a void as a No. 1 receiver the Patriots have been missing since at least the end of last season when they cut Stefon Diggs.
The Patriots not only fill that void but probably get an upgrade. And Vrabel, under withering criticism for his relationship with NFL insider Dianna Russini for going on two months now, gets a welcome change to the conversation.
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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown speaks during an NFL news conference in Philadelphia on Jan. 30, 2025, ahead of Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. (Matt Rourke/AP)
The timing of this trade was obvious because at 4 p.m. on Monday the salary cap implications for trading Brown became less onerous for the Eagles. They went from possibly carrying a $43.4 million dead-money charge to make a trade to shrinking that to $16.3 million based on NFL June 1 salary cap rules.
The Patriots inherit the final four years of Brown’s contract while the Eagles will split their remaining cap hit over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
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New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel talks to quarterback Drake Maye during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 19, 2025. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Brown immediately becomes Drake Maye’s No. 1 receiver in New England. The Patriots are hoping to take the next logical step after playing in the Super Bowl last season but losing to the Seattle Seahawks.
Adding Brown, who has six 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his seven-year career, seems like a solid step toward doing that.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO