After weeks of speculation, the Philadelphia Eagles achieved their trade to send three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick.
Brown’s trade reunites him with former head coach Mike Vrabel and gives him a young, new quarterback, Drake Maye, to catch passes from.
For a long time, rumors suggested that quarterback issues were part of the reason for Brown being disgruntled with the Eagles, and a new report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and others shed light on that on Monday.
“A good bit of his angst stemmed from the play of Hurts, league sources said, in part because of Hurts’ perceived reluctance to target Brown on tight-window throws against zone coverage,” the ESPN report indicated.
In April 2024, the Eagles showed confidence in Brown by signing him to a three-year, $94 million extension. However, the relationship didn’t go as they had intended because Brown wanted to improve his chances of reaching the Hall of Fame.
He played and started in 15 games for the Eagles, racking up 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns on his 78 receptions. While it was far from a subpar performance, it was certainly a continuing deterioration from his first two seasons in Philly.
Two of his three Pro Bowl appearances arrived while in Philly, and he helped the team win the Super Bowl over the Chiefs several seasons ago. However, this past season was a failure, as the Eagles couldn’t get past the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round, leading to offseason changes to Nick Sirianni’s staff and roster.
Firing offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was one of the first significant steps. In the NFL Draft, the Eagles made a move to find their next star receiver, selecting Makai Lemon from USC in the first round. Lemon had 1,156 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season with the Trojans.
The June trade sending Brown to the Patriots was pretty much one that everyone knew was coming, as it had been in the news for weeks and was basically a done deal.
Brown spent his first three NFL seasons in Tennessee under Vrabel and is reunited with his former coach after the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance. New England released another Pro Bowl receiver, Stefon Diggs, in March after they lost the Super Bowl, but they have now added another Pro Bowler in his place.
While the season will reveal more, the trade appears to be a win-win for Brown and the Eagles, since his former team seemingly rid itself of locker-room or off-field issues and received future draft picks in the deal.
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