The Eagles and the Patriots are teams with a deep history, dating back to the early 2000s, when they met in Super Bowl XXXIX, with New England cementing its dynasty with its third Lombardi in four years. They met again in the championship game in Super Bowl LII, but Philadelphia came out the victors that time.
The teams haven't been connected much since, other than trade speculation regarding AJ Brown this offseason, which doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.
And now there are even more rumors about what could happen on that front, as ESPN's Mike Reiss revealed that the Eagles and Patriots might hold joint practices this summer.
"Vrabel and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni have had preliminary discussions about the possibility of having the teams practice together in the preseason -- likely in Foxborough, according to a league source."
This is inevitably going to stir up more talk about Brown finally making his way to Foxboro, after growing up a Patriots fan and sobbing when Bill Belichick drafted N'Keal Harry instead during the 2019 NFL Draft, and maybe this is the way they get the deal done.
Eagles-Patriots joint practices this offseason would surely spark a lot of trade discussion for AJ Brown
Mike Vrabel has made it no secret that he still has a good relationship with Brown since he was shockingly traded from the Titans in 2022. It's a move that the head coach was vocally opposed to, and has remained in contact with the receiver in the years since.
That has been such a topic of conversation over the past year because of Vrabel taking the head-coaching job in New England, and with rumors of Brown wanting out of Philadelphia for the past two years, it remains the hottest chatter going into another offseason.
There is plenty to suggest that a trade will inevitably be reached by June 1, and Brown will be catching passes from Drake Maye in no time. However, the Eagles haven't been entirely clear about what they plan to do with the star, as they have sent mixed messages to the media about whether they want to keep him around.
Having joint practices will only heat up the debate about where Brown will be for the 2026 season, if he's not already traded. The belief is that he won't be moved before June 1, since the Eagles would be on the hook for far more dead cap before that, so practicing together could give them a chance to talk things over.
Regardless, there will almost certainly be more eyes on those practices than there normally would be, whether or not Brown is traded, and it will be the main topic of discussion until a trade is agreed upon or the Eagles flat-out say he's not going anywhere.