Following months of speculation regarding his future, mercurial wide receiver A.J. Brown was traded Monday from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New England Patriots for a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection. New England was the long-rumored landing spot for the 28-year-old Brown, who will now be reunited with his first NFL head coach, Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel was head the coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2019 when the club drafted Brown in the second round and spent three seasons there before a 2022 draft-day trade with the Eagles.
Brown worked under four different offensive coordinators in each of his four seasons in Philadelphia. He thrived in his first two seasons under Shane Steichen and Brian Johnson, respectively, logging seasons of 1,496 and 1,456 yards while notching 18 combined touchdowns amid what appeared to be a sterling connection with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
However, Brown's production waned in the 2024 and 2025 seasons under Kellen Moore and Kevin Patullo. Brown still managed seasons of 1,079 and 1,023 yards with 14 combined touchdowns in those two seasons, and the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX two seasons ago, 40-22 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Even so, Brown's apparent discontent continued to bloom amid speculation of a growing divide between the receiver with Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni. Moreover, game film revealed him giving minimal effort on numerous plays, and he memorably drew attention to his displeasure by reading a book on the sideline during a game. The Eagles won the NFC East behind an 11-6 record last year but lost 23-19 to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round. Patullo was fired after one season and replaced by first-time coordinator Sean Mannion, who will be the club's fifth offensive coordinator in as many seasons.
Brown now joins a Patriots club that made the Super Bowl last season and needed a top receiving target to pair with blossoming quarterback Drake Maye, last season's MVP runner-up. The club parted ways with veteran Stefon Diggs after just one season and the only notable move it made at the position was adding free agent Romeo Doubs, who notched a career-best 724 yards and six touchdowns last year with the Green Bay Packers, where he spent his first four NFL seasons.
New England Patriots futures odds (via DraftKings)
Sportsbooks also appeared to anticipate Brown joining the Patriots, as the NFL futures odds for both Philadelphia and New England were minimally impacted by Monday's trade, unlike the blockbuster trade of Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns to the Los Angeles Rams that catapulted the Super Bowl and NFC West NFL betting odds for Los Angeles.
The DraftKings Super Bowl odds saw the Patriots hold steady at +1600, while the Eagles took a slight dip to +1600 from +1500. New England also slightly dropped from +800 to +770 to win the AFC, while Philadelphia moved from +750 to +775 to win the NFC. The Eagles held steady at +100 to win the NFC East, while the Patriots went from +130 to +125 in the NFC East.
The season-win total odds for the Patriots sit at 10.5, with the Under shaded at -150 and the over priced at +125. The Eagles are also set at 10.5 wins, with the Under priced at -125 and the Over at +105.
Brown's individual NFL future odds include an over/under for receiving yards at 1,000.5 and 6.5 touchdowns. For his career, the Ole Miss product has caught 524 passes for 8,029 yards and 56 touchdowns across seven full seasons.
