Report: A.J. Brown ‘likely’ to be traded to Patriots on or after June 1

Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown is likely to be traded to the New England Patriots after June 1, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday morning.

Here’s the latest from Schefter:

“No matter what happens at this week’s draft, an A.J. Browntrade to the Patriots is still on the table and still tracking to happen on or after June 1, per league sources. The two sides have discussed a deal, but neither has been willing to commit to it until after June 1, when Brown’s $40 million salary cap charge would be split between this and next year.

“All the elements remain in place to make it happen, and Brown to the Patriots is still the likely outcome … just not during this week’s draft, per sources. Put the trade on hold just for now, but things will soon quickly warm back up. The Eagles remain open to trading Brown, the Patriots remain highly interested in acquiring the star receiver, and conversations are expected to resume shortly on or before June 1, probably culminating in a deal, per league sources.”

Despite the fatigue many Eagles fans feel with this story, it doesn’t appear to be going away. Brown, 28, has spent the last four years with the Eagles after a draft-day trade from Tennessee in 2022 but expressed his frustration with the Eagles’ offense during last season and reportedly asked for a trade during that season.

When asked about Brown this offseason, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has used the same refrain: “A.J. Brown is an Eagle.”

In addition to the ESPN report, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Monday morning reported that Brown “is not expected” to attend the Eagles’ voluntary offseason program, which begins on Monday. The Eagles don’t have their first OTA practice until May 26. Their only mandatory days of the spring are June 9-10, which comes after that important June 1 date.

The reason the June 1 date is so important in a potential trade is because it would allow the Eagles to spread out the dead cap hit for Brown between this year and next. Any trade before June 1, would accelerate all of that dead cap hit to the 2026 season.

Pre-June 1 trade: $43,448,702 in dead money in 2026

Post-June 1 trade: $15,353,496 in dead money in 2026

In the ESPN report, Schefter mentions that the Eagles would be fine getting 2027 draft picks for Brown. And with this year’s draft happening later this week, they’d obviously need to be if they wait until June to pull off this trade. For what it’s worth, the 2027 draft crop is expected to be stronger than this one.

If the Eagles do trade Brown, they have done some work this offseason to bolster their remaining receiving corps. They bring back DeVonta Smith, who would bump up to WR1 but they also traded for Dontayvion Wicks and signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore. They also bring back Darius Cooper, Johnny Wilson and Britain Covey.

There also seems to be a strong chance the Eagles will use one of their four top-100 picks on a receiver later this week.