The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles both tipped their hands during the NFL Draft. Whereas the former opted to forgo the wide receiver position altogether before adding four reported rookie free agents, the latter traded up in Round 1 to select wideout Makai Lemon 20th overall.
Within the context of the ongoing rumors involving both teams, those moves speak a clear language: the A.J. Brown trade from Philadelphia to New England is very much still in the works and likely to happen after
June 1.
That perspective was echoed by NFL insider Adam Schefter during a recent appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show.
“I think he knows where his future is headed at this moment,” Schefter said. “It will be a matter of the Patriots and the Eagles getting together to basically process the trade, finalize the trade, make sure it happens. But there is nothing that has transpired here, despite all the events in New England, that has deterred this trade from coming on.
“I still think it is on track. I still think it’s going to happen. I still think it will involve a future 1, likely a 2028 first-round draft pick. I still think all these elements are in place. And I still think that once we get to June, these two sides will get together and complete a trade that’ll send A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots.”
In light of recent questions about ethical reporting in the NFL, it is natural to be skeptical about the opinions expressed by Schefter. That said, regardless of where his information is coming from, the Eagles seem willing to take a relatively hard stance in their desire to trade Brown for premium compensation.
Whether that will indeed be a future first-round pick as speculated by the insider remains to be seen. Regardless, acquiring the soon-to-be 29-year-old will come at a significant cost for New England.
Will it eventually be worth it for the current Super Bowl runner-ups? Time will tell. Their fans, however, are not in favor of moving on from a first-round pick, as the results of a recent Pats Pulpit poll show:
For better or worse, the likely Brown trade will remain a hot-button topic in both New England and Philadelphia. And during what is a relatively quiet time on the NFL calendar, it seems likely that Adam Schefter’s latest media appearance will not be the latest information that will come out.
