The Philadelphia Eagles have traded A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, according to multiple reports.
The offseason saga that started during the season has concluded in expected fashion with Brown now the new number one wideout in New England, reuniting with his former head coach in Tennessee in Mike Vrabel.
The relationship between Brown and Jalen Hurts soured during the second half of Brown's four years with the team and it became irreparable.
Coupled with Brown’s expressed dissatisfaction with his involvement in the offense, the play from Hurts and the playing calling particularly last season with Kevin Patullo both in the locker room to the media and on his social media with cryptic posts, it became evident that things were not as smooth as they were when the viral video of the duo were on a facetime call laughing and celebrating the fact they were becoming teammates after Howie Roseman traded a first and third-round pick in the 2022 draft to shockingly land Brown.
Hurts, who is the godfather to Brown’s daughter, said last week during his first press conference since the end of last season that his relationship with Brown “hasn’t changed,” after it was confirmed he did not attend Brown’s wedding a couple weeks ago.
He also addressed that the trade talks surrounding Brown have been lingering, but “nothing can replace all the greatness that we achieved together.”
Despite the antics and frustration, Brown will go down as one of the top wide receivers in team history, despite his short tenure, etching his name into the franchise record books.
In 62 regular season games, Brown recorded 5,034 yards, surpassing 1,000 yards in each season, setting a franchise record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, highlighted by his first two years in Philadelphia, where he set the franchise record for most receiving yards in a season in both 2022 with 1,496, the watermark for the franchise, and in 2023 when he racked up 1,456 yards.
He has the second-most 100+ receiving yard games in team history with 22, just one shy of matching the franchise record set by Pete Retzlaff, who had 23. Brown is also tied for the most 100+ receiving games in a single season with seven, which he set back in 2023, tying him ironically with Terrell Owens, another star wideout who had his time with the team come to a sour end.
Brown, who turns 29 at the end of June, is just one of four wideouts in the NFL with 1,000-yard seasons every year since 2022.
That production will be tough to replicate.
However, Roseman and the Eagles seemingly were ready for life without Brown.
The Eagles signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore, traded for Dontayvion Wicks and drafted Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick in this year's draft.
