The biggest question for the Patriots this offseason is whether they will pursue a trade for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Currently, the Eagles don’t appear to be in a hurry to move Brown, and that doesn’t seem to pose a problem for the Patriots.
ESPN's Patriots reporter Mike Reiss noted that Eliot Wolf, the Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, hasn't established a deadline regarding a potential trade for Brown.
"Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf left open the possibility of trading for Eagles WR A.J. Brown, saying that there is no deadline on that type of transaction and that the team is always looking for ways to improve," Reiss wrote on Wednesday.
The Patriots may need to be patient as they await the Eagles' decision regarding Brown, since moving him before June 2 could result in a significant cap hit for Philadelphia.
If the Eagles decide to trade Brown before June 2, they would incur a hefty $43 million dead cap hit this season and miss out on $20 million in cap savings. However, if Philadelphia waits to trade Brown until after June 1, the dead money would drop to $16 million, freeing up $7 million in cap space.
A trade after June 1 can’t be processed until that date, which means the Patriots won’t be able to part ways with any 2026 NFL Draft picks. This implies they would have to work with 2027 picks instead, which might not be something New England is keen to do.
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