Eagles deal star wideout A.J. Brown to Patriots for first- and fifth-round draft picks

The Eagles are moving on from A.J. Brown, agreeing to trade the star receiver to the New England Patriots, the teams announced on Monday.

Pending Brown’s physical, the Eagles are receiving a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.

» READ MORE: Eagles trade A.J. Brown to the Patriots for 2 draft picks; Browns trading Myles Garrett; Birds add another WR

Brown, who turns 29 later this month, had been Jalen Hurts’ top weapon in the passing game since the Eagles acquired him from the Tennessee Titans in a draft-night trade in 2022. But Brown had expressed his frustration with his role within the offense — and the offense itself — at various points throughout the 2025 season, both in public comments and via social media.

His statistics last season reflected a down year personally and for the offense as a whole. Brown still finished the year with 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns on 78 receptions, but that was his lowest single-season yardage since he joined the Eagles (and the second-lowest of his career).

While Brown had three years remaining on his contract, neither Howie Roseman nor Nick Sirianni explicitly said that he would return in 2026 when directly asked about his future during a pre-combine interview in late February. Regarding all of his players, including Brown, Roseman said he would go into the new league year listening to trade offers.

Still, Roseman said on Monday night following the trade that he did not go into the offseason with a plan to move Brown. He explained that he had “honest conversations” with Brown as the offseason progressed regarding his desire for a fresh start.

“I think that he just felt for his family, that this stage of his career, it was something that he was desiring, that he was looking forward to,” Roseman said. “In all our conversations, [he was] very positive about his experiences in Philly. Just felt like going forward here that that was something that he preferred.”

Additionally, as Roseman got a sense of what the Eagles could get in return for Brown, he said a transaction “made some sense from both sides.” Roseman said that he wouldn’t have gone through with the trade, regardless of Brown’s preference, had the Eagles not received at least a first-round pick.

This particular first-round pick will come in 2028. Roseman emphasized that the value of the pick is more important than the year, likening his thought process to that surrounding the Haason Reddick trade to the Jets in 2024, which yielded a 2026 third-rounder.

“A first-round pick is a first-round pick,” Roseman said. “Doesn’t matter. Team’s still going to be playing football in 2028.”

Throughout the offseason, with a trade of Brown seemingly looming, the Eagles bolstered their receiving corps via the draft, trade, and free agency. Roseman selected former USC receiver Makai Lemon with the No. 20 overall pick. He also acquired Dontayvion Wicks, who turns 25 later this month, from the Green Bay Packers. Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, whose 29th birthday is also this month, signed with the Eagles as a free agent.

By trading Brown after June 1, the Eagles are able to split up his dead money charge between 2026 (roughly $16 million, per Over The Cap) and 2027 (approximately $27 million), instead of taking all of it on this year. The Eagles will also save over $133 million in cash.

Despite the dead money the Eagles will incur over the next two seasons, Roseman said he will still be able to build the team as he sees fit.

“[I] feel like we have a good team, a good roster,” Roseman said. “I think that when we’ve been able to, over the last few years, slowly move on, get younger, but at the same time, keep a lot of our players, and we’ll try to continue to do so. The goal is really for us to have sustainability here.”

New England was a logical landing spot for Brown, and not only because the reigning AFC champion cut its former top receiver, Stefon Diggs, this offseason.

Brown had previously played for Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel with the Titans for the first three years of his career (2019-21). In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Brown (a Patriots fan in his childhood) went on a podcast hosted by former Patriots players Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman and expressed his appreciation for Vrabel.

The respect was mutual. When he was asked specifically about his ongoing relationship with the receiver at his combine podium session, Vrabel raved about Brown.

“I think the relationship with players — and, specifically, you asked about A.J. — has meant a lot,” Vrabel said on Feb. 25. “I watched him grow. I watched him mature. I’m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I’m proud of the husband. And that has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played.

“So those are the things that are important. We reach out, text each other during the things that happen good to each other. And sometimes things don’t go so well for the people that you’re close with and you text those, as well. So it’s been a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us to where we are here today.”

When asked about trading for Brown in an ensuing session with New England-area reporters, Vrabel spoke broadly about the Patriots’ approach to the offseason as to avoid allegations of tampering.

“I think that we’ll look at everything that we can possibly look at to add to our roster,” Vrabel said.

In the aftermath of the trade, Roseman pushed back on the notion that the Patriots had tampered in their pursuit of Brown, emphasizing that he was “happy with the trade.”

“He was a great player for us,” Roseman said. “I just think it’s the reality of the situation of where we’re at, and felt like what was the right thing for our team going forward based on the circumstances that were at hand.”

Despite reports of Brown’s long-term knee issues providing cause for concern, Roseman also said that his “production and durability [had] been off-the-charts successful for us” during his four seasons in Philadelphia.

The Eagles do not play the Patriots during the 2026 regular season. However, the two teams will face each other in New England in the second week of the preseason on Saturday, Aug. 22, preceded by at least one joint practice that week.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is set to gain a target, while Hurts loses one of his top receiving options going into his sixth season as the full-time starter — with yet another play-caller in new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Brown’s departure signals an increased role for DeVonta Smith, 27, who was the team’s leading receiver as a rookie in 2021 before Brown joined the Eagles.

At organized team activities on Wednesday, Hurts said the team’s focus has been on the task at hand, rather than the absence of Brown from the practice facility during the offseason program.

“I think for us, we’re focused on learning the offense,” Hurts said. “It really doesn’t change in terms of our approach to improve. There’s an ‘if,’ obviously, [Brown’s uncertain future with the Eagles has] been lingering, a lingering thing. But nothing can replace all the greatness that we achieved together.”

Brown, a 2024 Super Bowl champion, leaves Philadelphia as the only player in franchise history to notch 1,400-plus receiving yards in multiple seasons (1,496 in 2022 and 1,456 in 2023). Both totals are the top two in team history. His 2022 single-season franchise best broke a 38-year record set by Mike Quick in 1983 (1,409).