A.J. Brown's name keeps coming up in trade talks, and the New England Patriots are not doing much to bury the conversation. Brown wrapped another strong season with the Philadelphia Eagles with 78 catches, 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns, his fourth straight year clearing the 1,000-yard mark.
Over seven NFL seasons split between the Eagles and the Tennessee Titans, he has put up 524 receptions for 8,029 yards and 56 touchdowns, earned three Pro Bowl selections and picked up a Super Bowl ring.
The production has been consistent, and the resume is hard to argue with. Yet the trade speculation has not gone away.
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New England keeps coming up in those conversations, and at the NFL's annual meeting on Tuesday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was given a chance to shut it down. He did not, per ESPN's Mike Reiss.
"We've talked about this since last January. We're going to try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster through the draft, through free agency, multiple ways of player acquisition," Vrabel said. "So anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we're going to try to do."
General manager Eliot Wolf was more measured, but neither man closed the door.
"We haven't had any conversations about anything regarding that in a long time." he said.
On the Philadelphia side, Eagles GM Howie Roseman was asked about Brown's future repeatedly on Monday and held the same line, “A.J. Brown is a member of the Eagles.”
But the financial picture tells a more complicated story. If the Eagles move Brown before June 1, they absorb a dead cap hit north of $40 million. Wait until after that date and the number drops to around $20 million. That gap gives Philadelphia every reason to take its time.
The Patriots connection runs deeper than just roster need. Brown grew up a New England fan, and his history with Mike Vrabel goes back to their time together with the Tennessee Titans. Those ties have kept the rumors alive through the offseason, and Vrabel's comments Tuesday did nothing to cool them off.
Whether any of this actually turns into a deal is another question. Shared history and financial logic can point in the same direction without a trade ever happening. But currently, nothing is being ruled out on either side.
