The Patriots, with their league-high cap space and plenty of improvements needed to be a competitive team again, are in a position to dramatically makeover their roster ahead of the 2025 season. That will inevitably have them connected to any all-star players looking for a trade or hoping to land a big payday with a new team, which (hopefully) will happen with at least some in New England under Mike Vrabel.
Because of Vrabel's addition to Foxboro this offseason, the Patriots believe they will have a better chance to get some big names in the building, especially those he coached during his time with the Titans.
That has brought up the potential but not likely trade for wide receiver A.J. Brown, whom Vrabel didn't want to be traded out of Tennessee in 2022, so maybe he could reunite with him on the Patriots. Rumors have suggested they could get the deal done for the player who should have been on the team since he was drafted, but the chances of the Eagles giving him up have grown slimmer over the past week.
From winning the Super Bowl to stop a threepeat by the Chiefs to wanting to run the same team back in 2025, it's difficult to imagine that Brown will want out of Philadelphia or that they would be willing to trade him away.
Even with that being the current narrative, Brown continues to fuel the fire with his public comments, the latest being made to former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman after winning the Super Bowl last weekend.
A.J. Brown should have always been on the Patriots and it sounds like he might still hope that happens someday
Given that the Championship game was broadcast on FOX Sports this year, a handful of legendary Patriots players were on hand to discuss the game in real-time. From Tom Brady in the booth to color commentating to Rob Gronkowski and Edelman handling the halftime and post-show shows, there were plenty of opportunities for the ex-Patriots to plant a bug in some players' ears, one of whom was Brown.
Edelman revealed he had left a note in Brown's locker before the game to provide some encouragement, and when asked about his reaction to that, Brown had nothing but great things to say including reminding everyone he grew up a Patriots fans, just to pour salt into the wound even more.
“It meant the world to me…this guy is very special to me. I watched him year after year, him and Tom. Those guys are very special to me.”
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 11, 2025
A lot of respect between @Edelman11 and @JJVWEBB 🤝🙌 pic.twitter.com/UUhBKQmpI6
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One of Bill Belichick's biggest mistakes in New England was passing on selecting Brown or Deebo Samuel in the first round of the 2019 Draft and instead taking N'Keal Harry, who wound up becoming among the biggest draft busts of Belichick's career.
Brown has spoken about being heartbroken that the team he grew up loving decided not to draft him and has made them regret it every year since, the 2024 season being one of them.
Now that Vrabel is running the ship for the foreseeable future, and he's already stated that he maintains a good friendship with Brown to this day, it's hard to completely rule out a blockbuster trade to finally get the receiver in a Patriots uniform.
While the chances of that happening are closer to zero than anything, this is still the NFL, and you can never say never. Everyone has a price, and we've seen massive trades for top-of-the-line players in recent years to prove that true. So, a trade for Brown can't be ruled out entirely, especially with Vrabel in the picture now.