Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown looks up as confetti falls after a game.
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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown reacts after a game. The Patriots reportedly received a new insider update after their Romeo Doubs deal.
The New England Patriots’ decision to add wide receiver Romeo Doubs in free agency has not slammed the door on a potential blockbuster move for Philadelphia Eagles star A.J. Brown, according to multiple NFL insiders. But in a discouraging update Tuesday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said that “the team is out right now” on a potential trade for Brown, due to the Doubs deal.
The Patriots have been linked to Brown throughout the offseason as they look to upgrade their receiving corps around quarterback Drake Maye, and the latest insider update suggests the pursuit remains at least possible despite the Doubs deal. Schefter, speaking in an ESPN appearance on Tuesday, said the Doubs move “doesn’t mean a trade couldn’t come up,” explaining that adding the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver simply means “there’s no urgency” at this point to complete a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Brown.
Earlier reports suggested that the Eagles were demanding the Patriots first-round pick, as well as later picks, in the 2026 draft as a price to get Brown, but another update from insider Josina Anderson on Monday said that the Eagles could be satisfied with a first-round pick next year and a second-rounder this year for the three-time Pro Bowl receiver. The Patriots–Eagles discussions remain fluid as the offseason trade market develops.
Clearly, however, the prospective signing of Doubs has changed everything about the Brown trade situation — at least for the present.
“My sense this morning was that [the Patriots] had sort of cooled on A.J. Brown, or at least there wasn’t any steam for a deal becoming imminent,” said another ESPN insider on the broadcast earlier Tuesday. “I’m not so sure they’re going to allocate the resources to go get A.J. Brown [after the Doubs signing] and they were considered one of the top contenders for Brown … The sense right now is there’s nothing imminent.”
Patriots Trade Rumors: Did Doubs Deal Change Their A.J. Brown Plans?
For now, the insiders agree, momentum around a potential Patriots trade for A.J. Brown appears to have slowed, with no indication a deal was close after the team added Romeo Doubs. The Patriots had previously been viewed as one of the strongest potential landing spots for Brown as the offseason trade market developed, but the Doubs signing appears to have altered the organization’s immediate priorities.
“Long story short? New England is still in on Brown, and they now have additional leverage on the Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman,” wrote Sports Illustrated NFL analyst Mike Kadlick on Tuesday. “Prior to the agreed upon signing of Doubs, the Patriots were without any semblance of a true top target on offense, meaning Philadelphia held the cards in a potential move. Now, however, the Patriots can afford to wait the Eagles out on their astronomical asking price for Brown—or at least get it closer to their liking.”
Why Would the Eagles Trade Brown?
According to Daniel Rotman, founder of the draft analysis site ScoutD NFL, the Eagles’ incentive to trade Brown “is clear. 1. They have a GM who historically knows when to move off of players. Brown is slowly declining. 2. Locker room issues and an annoyance to manage.”
But the Eagles are likely to hold on to Brown until after June 1, Rotman wrote, because they would “save $7 million on their active cap hit” by waiting until after that date.