PHOENIX – The A.J. Brown rumors aren’t going away any time soon.
That’s been clear at the NFL’s Annual Meetings in Phoenix. On Sunday, Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman deflected when asked about his Pro Bowl receiver. It was similar to Eagles coach Nick Sirianni on Monday.
In both cases, Roseman and Sirianni stated the obvious – Brown is on the Eagles roster. Although that’s true, the question remains – for how long?
After Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was asked about the Patriots potentially acquiring Brown on Monday, it was Mike Vrabel’s turn during the AFC coaches breakfast on Tuesday morning.
The Patriots coach has been steadfast in his messaging when it comes to acquiring a potential star player.
“We’ve talked about this since last January,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster through the draft, through free agency, multiple ways of player acquisition. So, anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we’re going to try to do.”
Since Brown is still under contract and on the Eagles’ roster, no one on the Patriots can publicly comment about their desire to trade for him. In the case of Wolf and Vrabel, neither denied that the Patriots are interested in trading for the 3-time Pro Bowler.
After releasing Stefon Diggs this offseason, the Patriots signed receiver Romeo Doubs in free agency. In the event they traded for Brown, the receiving corps around Drake Maye would be seriously upgraded.
On Monday, Wolf was asked by MassLive about trading for Brown. He toed a similar line to his coach.
“We’ll look at any player that we think might have a chance to improve our team,” Wolf said.
“You know, whether they’re – again, can’t talk about players on other teams, but we’re still trying to improve the roster.”
Unhappy the last two seasons in Philadelphia, due to his role on the offense, Brown still finished with 78 catches for 1,003 yards with seven touchdowns in 2024. Adding him with Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams would give the Patriots more than enough receiver depth on their roster.
On Tuesday, Vrabel was asked about Brown’s desire to be more involved in Philadelphia’s offense. Vrabel knows the receiver well from coaching him in Tennessee and said he understands the receiver’s plight.
“I love the relationship I have with players on our team and the ones on other teams that I’ve either coached or come in contact with,” Vrabel said. “That’s the beauty of this league in having played it and being able to coach it, the men and the people involved on the field is something that’s special that I hold very near and dear. I have communications with a lot of those players.
Now, we all understand in professional sports, players that are talented and get to this level have some sort of ego to them. There’s a balance. They have to have that edge.
“I think as a coaching staff and whatever that is, you have to balance that edge to make sure that that’s helping the team. Everybody wants to excel. What receiver doesn’t want to catch the ball and what pass rusher doesn’t want to sack the quarterback? What DB doesn’t want to intercept the ball? Running backs want to score touchdowns. That’s how this league goes.
There’s a balance between their own personal success and their mindset and how they can help the team.”
For the Eagles, the target date to trade Brown is after June 1. That’s when Brown’s dead money cap hit will drop from $43.4 to $16.3 million.
The next question turns to compensation. The Eagles are reportedly asking for a draft package that includes a first-round pick. That would mean the Patriots giving up picks in a loaded 2027 draft class.
On Tuesday, Vrabel was asked about potentially trading future draft assets.
“I mean, the compensation is compensation,” Vrabel said. “You have to agree to something and whether it’s capital in this year’s draft… However, you can come to an agreement with another team. I’ve never really looked at it as this year, next year, how good the draft is in three years. Just try to come to an agreement. If you make a trade, you just want to try to come to an agreement that both teams feel like they’re getting something, that they, that everybody’s happy.”