Skip to content
LiveUpdated

A.J. Brown trade updates: Latest rumors and timing; Eagles reportedly sign another WR

NFL insiders expect the Eagles to trade A.J. Brown sometime after 4 p.m. Monday.

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown catches the football during warm ups before the Eagles take on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown catches the football during warm ups before the Eagles take on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia. Read more
Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
What you should know

  1. The Eagles are widely expected to trade A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots sometimes after 4 p.m. Monday.

  2. What could the Eagles get back in an A.J. Brown trade? We outlined three possibilities.

  3. DeVonta Smith won’t replace A.J. Brown, writes columnist David Murphy. The question is whether the Eagles will need him to.

Pin Icon
Pinned

Eagles might only get one draft pick in return for A.J. Brown

If the return for A.J. Brown is straight up a 2028 first round draft pick — and from what I understand, that is the case — then it would come two draft cycles after the parameters of a deal between the Eagles and New England Patriots were likely set.

That’s quite a drop in compensation if the initial asking price, as I had heard it, was a first and a second rounder. Some of that seemed posturing.

But the Los Angeles Rams were really the only other serious suitor. Brown was coming off a down season, has medical concerns with his knees, and requires some maintenance off the field. He’s also still highly regarded around the league and has many who vouch for his character and leadership.

Odell Beckham Jr. returning to the Giants

Ahead of expected trade, A.J. Brown deletes his X account

With social media abuzz discussing A.J. Brown’s looming trade, one voice is noticeably absent – Brown himself. The Eagles wideout has seemingly deactivated his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Brown’s account (@1kalwaysopen_) and its posts are no longer visible on the platform. It is not known the exact time and date Brown deactivated his account, but its absence was first noticed on Sunday.

This does not mean that Brown’s account is gone forever, though. X gives users 30 days to access one’s account after deactivation, so Brown has the option to rejoin the platform if he wishes.

Eagles sign former Packers WR Samori Toure: report

ESPN's Adam Schefter expects A.J. Brown trade to happen today

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter expects the Eagles and Patriots to hash out a deal today that would send A.J. Brown to New England.

And he expects it to happen sooner rather than later.

"I would think the trade occurs sometime within the next 24 hours," Schefter said on Get Up Monday morning.

Ex-Eagles defender Darius Slay on 'a sad day'

Latest on A.J. Brown trade talks

It appears the expectation around the NFL is the Eagles will trade A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots sometime after 4 p.m. today.

Last month, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Brown trade "was still tracking to happen on or after June 1." And the Eagles traded up in the first round of this year's draft to take USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, all but signaling Brown's exit from the team was imminent.

"The dominoes signaling his exit have been toppling for weeks, if not months, and Lemon’s selection was just the latest before the mercurial receiver is dealt to the Patriots — or some late entry who might join what has mostly been a two-partner dance — on or around June 1," Jeff McLane wrote in April.

A.J. Brown is actually a good fit for the Patriots

Why is the June 1 deadline important for A.J. Brown?

Across the NFL, June 1 is a mostly-boring deadline for teams to get their financial books in order and send tenders to unsigned restricted free agents who received a qualifying offer.

You may have seen players released as a “post-June 1 release," such as Tua Tagovailoa and Kirk Cousins. That basically means the dead cap hit a team has to take on that player's salary can be spread over two seasons instead of one, all thanks to a 2006 rule change.

There is no similar mechanism to make a "post-June 1 trade," which is one reason why A.J. Brown remains a member of the Eagles. If the Birds would have trade him before today, they would've been on the hook for $43.5 million in dead salary cap space in 2026, according to Spotrac.

If A.J. Brown is traded, will the Eagles need DeVonta Smith to replace him?

DeVonta Smith will be the Eagles’ WR1.

But will he be a WR1?

It’s not just a question.

What could the Eagles get back in an A.J. Brown trade?

Trade proposal: The Patriots’ 2027 first- and second-round picks in exchange for Brown

This return would likely be the ideal for the Eagles. It’s the same return that the Green Bay Packers received for Davante Adams when they traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 (both picks were also in 2022, as the trade occurred before the draft). At the time, Adams was 29 years old and had posted over 1,000 receiving yards in three of his last four seasons. Similarly, Brown turns 29 in June and has eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons with the Eagles since he was traded from the Tennessee Titans in 2022.

But there are other factors at play with A.J. Brown that may impact the Eagles’ ability to get the same haul the Packers received for Adams. In 2022, Adams was coming off the best year of his career, posting over 1,500 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Brown had a relatively down season in 2025, finishing with 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Plus, while Adams didn’t exactly have a clean bill of health after eight years in the league, he didn’t have a long-term knee issue like Brown reportedly does.