A.J. Brown listen to headphones during game warm-ups amid Patriots trade talks.
Getty
A.J. Brown listen to headphones during game warm-ups amid Patriots trade talks.
On Saturday, the New England Patriots continue to engage in trade talks over Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, but according to a leading NFL insider, any momentum toward a deal had suddenly stalled out on Friday because “there’s a lot of stuff going on with the Eagles.”
That was the latest update from insider Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, speaking on the network’s program The Insiders on Friday. In his update, Garafolo said that “there’s been positive momentum a few times” in the Brown discussions over the past few days, but as of late Friday afternoon, “it feels stalled again.”
Why Patriots A.J. Brown Trade Hit a Standstill
Garafolo addressed skepticism that the trade will not happen at all, a belief held by many Eagles fans.
“They’ve continued to have conversations,” Garafolo said in the The Insiders appearance. “Some folks in Philly are like, ‘Will you stop? He’s not getting traded.’ Okay, then why are they talking? They’ve had plenty of conversations.”
But the “stuff” holding up the deal involved several factors, according to Garafolo — one of them being Eagles veteran tight end Dallas Goedert. The Eagles must make a decision on whether to grant the 31-year-old a contract extension or cut ties with him after eight years. If they release Goedert, the Eagles suffer a dead cap hit of $20.5 million.
A trade of Brown comes with a similar cap hit — $23.4 million. In other words, the Eagles cannot both release Goedert and trade Brown. The deadline to void Goedert’s contract was Wednesday, but the Eagles bought time by pushing it to Friday.
And then on Friday, the deadline was pushed to Monday, Zach Berman of The Athletic revealed. Until the Goedert situation is resolved, Garafolo explained, no decision on trading Brown can be made.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert watches from the sidelines.
GettyDallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles. His contract status is stalling the A.J. Brown trade talks.
Rams Also Enter A.J. Brown Trade Talks: Report
The Los Angeles Rams have also held discussions with Philadelphia on a trade for Brown, according to another NFL insider, Athletic reporter Dianna Russini. But Russini wrote that a trade to either team is off the table — for now.
“After serious conversations with both the Rams and Patriots, the Eagles will not trade A.J. Brown at this time, according to multiple league sources,” Russini reported on Friday. “Both teams remain interested, but no move is imminent. If a trade were to happen, it would likely heat up closer to June 1.”
Starting on that date, the Eagles are permitted to spread Brown’s dead cap hit over two seasons, making the trade much more feasible financially, according to an analysis by James Dator of SB Nation.
“They can’t take both cap hits. So this is going to continue to go over the weekend,” Garafolo said on The Insiders. “I don’t sense real momentum right now on this, but I’m sure (Eagles executive vice president Howard Roseman) is going to continue to have conversations. … We’ll see. He’s still an Eagle right now. Will he be? At this point, I don’t know. I’m tired of guessing. We’ll let you know.”
The Patriots, according to Garafolo’s information, will need to wait at least until Monday to find out if a Brown trade is even still on the table, and if it is, nothing is likely to happen on the trade front at least until the calendar turns to June, the insider reports say.