Eagles

A.J. Brown is Probably Getting Traded to New England, Says Adam Schefter

By Matt Schultz

Published: Apr 20th, 2026 · 10:33 AM EDT

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Adam Schefter was up and at ‘em early Monday morning to give us an update to the saga that refuses to end.

According to Schefty, A.J. Brown will likely be traded to the Patriots after June 1st:

The Eagles remain open to trading AJ Brown, the Patriots remain highly interested in acquiring the star receiver, and conversations are expected to resume shortly on or before June 1, likely culminating in a deal, per league sources.

As one source said about the Patriots'… https://t.co/00gLK5DEdh pic.twitter.com/JnCQF2wz7z

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 20, 2026

Two quick housekeeping things to note:

First: The June 1st date keeps being mentioned because Brown has a massive, $40 million cap hit. If Howie waits until after June 1st to make the deal, the Eagles can split that across two years, making the dead cap hit workable. 

Second: Schefty’s latest report doesn’t touch on what the Eagles can expect return-wise; this is going to be the final sticking point in the trade, and Howie will probably continue trying to get as much as he can until the trade actually happens. Opinions vary on what the Birds can realistically fetch for Brown – the ceiling is likely a late-ish first round pick, and the floor could be a mid-second. Philly optimists will point to the D.J. Moore and Jaylen Waddle deals as a reference point that set the market well for Howie. Buffalo sent a 2nd rounder and Denver a 1st rounder in those trades, respectively.

From where I’m sitting, anything less than a first round pick is going to be a tough pill to swallow. I may be talking nuts, here… but in my opinion, losing a player this good… is going to feel very bad. To do it for a mid-second round pick would be a pretty rough gut punch on top of it. 

In any event, whether you’re for or against a deal that seems all but certain to happen in a couple months, I think we can all take solace in knowing that this story, someday soon, will finally come to an end.