Eagles trade A.J. Brown to Patriots in exchange for 2028 first-round pick, 2027 fifth
The Philadelphia Eagles traded star wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots, the Patriots announced on Monday. The Eagles separately confirmed the move, receiving a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick in return.
Terms of the deal were first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It was the league’s second major trade of the day after the Los Angeles Rams acquired two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a package involving 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse and a 2027 first-round pick.
Brown had a few moments of visible frustration on the Eagles' sideline during the 2025 season. Those blowups, combined with diminishing production in the past two seasons, resulted in Brown's time with the team coming to a premature end.
While Brown, 28, appeared at odds with the Eagles at various points over his career, things seemed to come to a head during the 2025 season. With Brown struggling to put up his usual numbers early in the season, the wideout had multiple instances in which he complained — either cryptically or behind closed doors — about the team's performance.
Things appeared to reach an inflection point during the Eagles' wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when cameras captured Brown and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni yelling at each other on the sideline. Sirianni downplayed the moment after the game. Brown did not meet with the media after the loss.
It was a frustrating game for Brown, who finished with just 25 receiving yards. He caught just three of his seven targets in the 23-19 loss and had at least three bad drops in the game.
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Those struggles proved to be emblematic of Brown's 2025 season, which saw him post his lowest receiving total — 1,003 yards — since joining the Eagles. Brown also posted a 64.5 catch rate in 2025, his lowest total in three seasons.
All of those factors resulted in rumors suggesting Brown could be traded over the offseason. Those rumors got some validity in February, when Sirianni and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman implied Brown's return to Philadelphia for the 2026 season was not a guarantee.
Those comments proved to be a harbinger for the trade.
Shortly after those comments, reports emerged suggesting Brown would be traded to the Patriots … but not until June 2. Due to the way Brown’s contract was structured, the Eagles can take a much smaller dead-cap hit if Brown was traded on or after that date. In order to make an NFL transaction, the move must be in by 4 p.m. ET on that day. Because of that, Brown can technically be traded any time after 4 p.m. ET on June 1 and it would count as a June 2 trade. That’s why analysts expected Brown to get moved Monday.
With both teams holding out until June 2, the Eagles can now spread out Brown’s dead-cap hit over the next two seasons.
When healthy — and happy — Brown has performed like one of the best receivers in the NFL. After some promising early seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Brown was traded to the Eagles ahead of the 2022 season.
Over the next two seasons, Brown averaged 97 catches, 1,476 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl both years, was named to the second-team All-Pro team and received down-ballot votes for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Brown was on pace to post similar numbers in 2024, but hamstring and knee issues limited him to 13 games. He was still good enough in limited work to make the second-team All-Pro team for the third straight season.
Things fell apart for both Brown and the Eagles in 2025. After losing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, the entire Eagles' offense dropped from seventh in scoring in 2024 to 19th in 2025. Kevin Patullo was promoted to the role, where he lasted just one season. In his only year as the team's offensive coordinator, the Eagles faced criticism for a lack of innovation.
Because of that, Brown struggled to put up his usual numbers. Despite playing in two more games in 2025, Brown failed to exceed his 2024 yardage total. He averaged just 66.9 yards per game, his lowest total since 2021.
A few months before the start of the 2024 season, Brown signed a three-year, $96 million extension with the Eagles. That extension won't kick in until the 2027 season, meaning Brown is currently signed through 2029. Because of that, the Eagles were reportedly asking a lot for the wideout in trade talks.
With the trade, a bounce-back season could be on the horizon for Brown. If Brown's struggles in 2025 were mostly due to playing in a dysfunctional offense, and not a sign of decline, the wideout could still provide multiple years of elite production before his contract is up.
In a breakdown of teams that improved specific units this offseason, Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice said this is how the Patriots’ offense will improve with their addition of Brown:
Brown is a proven difference maker against any type of coverage and in multiple offenses. … while [Romeo] Doubs has been effective on outbreakers and stop routes, Brown fills out the rest of the route tree with his downfield ability and whenever he wants to tap into the Fountain of YAC in which he bathed himself at the beginning of his career.
It remains to be seen if Brown’s drop in speed last year was because of injuries, age or disinterest, or maybe a combination. Perhaps fresh surroundings will help inject another surge in performance while playing with [Drake] Maye. Even a slightly diminished Brown will be easily the most talented receiver on the Patriots’ roster. And his downfield and explosive play potential on inbreakers will fit in perfectly with Maye’s aggression, while also pushing the rest of New England’s pass catchers into better roles as complementary pieces.
This story will be updated.
