Matt Johnson
The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots have been linked for months in NFL rumors regarding a potential A.J. Brown trade. While the chatter has seemed to slow down, that might be happening because the two sides already have a deal in place.
On this week’s episode of the Football 301 podcast, Yahoo Sports NFL analyst Nate Tice said he’s talked to three people around the league who all agree that a deal between New England and Philadelphia is already agreed to.
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“I’ve had three different people…I’m not the source guy, but three people just say something as I’ve talked to them that are with teams, that have all told me it feels pretty much done, the post-June 1 trade. I’m not trying to break news here, but I think everybody is in agreement here.”
Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice on a potential A.J. Brown trade
There’s another thing worth noting here, as mentioned by Matt Harmon on Football 301. The Philly Voice‘s Jimmy Kempski reported this past week that some within the Eagles organization believe that wide receiver DeVonta Smith can put up a statistical jump reminiscent of what Jaxon Smith-Njigba did this past season with the Seattle Seahawks.
As Harmon noted, that’s the second time the Eagles have seemingly leaked to reporters that they have a lot of confidence Smith could excel in the No. 1 receiver role if Brown were to be playing elsewhere. While the team’s public comments about a potential trade have always downplayed the rumors, the leaks about the organization’s faith in Smith suggest there’s some preparedness for a world where he is the team’s No. 1 pass-catcher.
There’s also the fact that Philadelphia recently acquired wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks from the Green Bay Packers. Wicks came up in the Packers’ system while Sean Mannion, who is now the Eagles offensive coordinator, worked in Green Bay as an offensive assistant (2024) and quarterbacks coach (2025).
So, reporting has made it pretty clear that the Eagles have a lot of confidence in a Smith-Wicks receiver pairing next season with Hollywood Brown operating as the No. 3 receiver. All of these signs would seemingly indicate that Philadelphia has already prepared itself for operating an offense without Brown with the team.
Of course, a trade can’t realistically be made until well after the 2026 NFL Draft. The Eagles would be stuck with a $43.515 million dead cap hit if Brown is traded before June 1, with a move immediately costing them $20.121 million in cap space for the upcoming season.
However, if a trade is announced after June 1, the Eagles create $7.04 million in cap savings this season with Brown’s dead cap hits spread across the 2026 ($16.353 million) and 2027 ($27.161 million) seasons, per Spotrac.com.
All of that information together would add to the credibility of the belief around the league that the Eagles and Patriots might already have a deal in place for Brown. While an announcement won’t be coming anytime soon, it would now seem to be a bigger surprise if Brown suits up for the Eagles in Week 1 than if he’s on the field for the Patriots.
