NFL’s worst-kept secret comes to fruition as star receiver AJ Brown is reunited with former coach Mike Vrabel

AJ Brown is headed to New England.

In what may have been the worst-kept secret of the NFL offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles are finally sending Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick as well as a fifth-round selection in 2027.

The deal has been speculated for several weeks, but was delayed until after June 1 due to the complications of the NFL salary cap.

Brown now steps in for Stefon Diggs, who was crucial for quarterback Drake Maye in 2025 but was subsequently released after the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The 28-year-old Ole Miss product won a Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2024, but he and quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled to remain on the same page at various times in 2025. Whereas Brown averaged more than 80 receiving yards per game with Philadelphia in 2022, 2023 and 2024, that figure dropped to 66.9 last season. 

Interestingly, Hurts was a no-show at Brown’s recent wedding to Kelsey Riley. 

Prior to his time in Philadelphia, Brown was a budding star with the Tennessee Titans under current Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel. Over the first three seasons of his career, Brown averaged 69.7 receiving yards a game in Nashville before being dealt to the Eagles for the 18th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

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