Three-time Pro Bowl selection AJ Brown is headed to New England.
In what may have been the worst-kept secret of the NFL offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles are finally sending Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick as well as a fifth-round selection in 2027. The details of the trade were first revealed by ESPN’s NFL insider, Adam Schefter.
The deal has been speculated for several weeks, but was delayed until after June 1 due to the complexities of the NFL salary cap. By waiting until May had ended, the Eagles can now split $43.5 million in dead money between 2026 and 2027, giving the team more financial flexibility.
Brown now steps in for Stefon Diggs, who was crucial for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in 2025 but was subsequently released after the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The 28-year-old Ole Miss product won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2024, but he and quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled to remain on the same page at various times in 2025. Whereas Brown averaged more than 80 receiving yards per game with Philadelphia in 2022, 2023 and 2024, that figure dropped to 66.9 last season.
Interestingly, Hurts was a no-show at Brown’s recent wedding to Kelsey Riley.
AJ Brown’s final season in Philadelphia saw him fall out of favor with quarterback Jalen Hurts
Hurts and his wife were not in attendance when Brown (left) married Kelsey Riley (right)
Mike Vrabel welcomes AJ Brown back to the sideline during a 2021 game in Nashville
Prior to his time in Philadelphia, Brown was a budding star with the Tennessee Titans under current Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel.
Over the first three seasons of his career, Brown averaged 69.7 receiving yards a game in Nashville before being dealt to the Eagles for the 18th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Brown now joins a crowded receiver room in Foxborough that already included Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams. The Patriots previously added free-agent and former Green Bay Packers star Romeo Doubs, who is still just 26 and coming off a 724-yard season.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have been preparing for Brown’s departure for some time.
In addition to drafting USC’ wideout Makai Lemon in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, the team also signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore, while trading for the Green Bay Packers’ Dontayvion Wicks.
And of course, Philadelphia also returns Heisman winner DeVonta Smith, who remains one of the more dangerous targets in the NFC.
