During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, wide receiver AJ Brown was getting his knee drained twice a week, including hours before kickoff. He didn’t reveal that information publicly until August 2025 on a podcast. The news traveled, and when Brown started looking for a new franchise this offseason, that bill came due.

The Los Angeles Rams reviewed Brown’s preliminary medical report and found significant wear and tear on his lower body. NBC’s Mike Florio reported the team got “scared off” by the diagnosis and walked away from the trade. Now, the New England Patriots are trading in whatever market is left.

“From what I understand, the compensation that the Patriots are looking for, there’s been a lot of speculation. First and a second, first and a third,” Boston Sports Journal’s founder Greg Bedard said in an interview. “The Patriots, my understanding is, are around a second-round draft pick compensation.”

The Patriots are reportedly unwilling to offer a first-round pick for Brown. This is well below the Eagles’ asking price, who have reportedly been in the market for a first- and second-round pick, along with a player, in exchange for AJ Brown. So can the two sides find a middle ground with just a second-rounder? NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry thinks ‘yes,’ because Philly doesn’t have another choice.

“They found themselves in a difficult spot where they’re probably going to have to take less because everybody knows he’s not long for Philadelphia,” Perry said. “And not only that, but he is 29 years old. He does have some knee issues that I think are a real concern.”

Brown logged 1,000+ receiving yards for the fourth straight season in 2025, but the numbers were also the lowest since 2021. In addition, hamstring flare-ups tied to old scar tissue are still causing problems for Brown throughout the season. First-round pick medical profiles don’t usually look like this, and that’s one of the major reasons his market has fallen.

“How many people are really jumping at the chance to give away a first-round pick for a player who, for the next two years, I think should be really, really good, especially in the right situation with the right quarterback,” Perry added. “But after that, you’re not so sure.”

What’s more, Perry makes the case that the Patriots’ 2027 first-round pick, tied directly to how quarterback Drake Maye continues to develop, is not something you risk on a maybe. Meanwhile, Philly’s leverage is gone. A trade before June 1 costs the Eagles more than $40 million in dead cap. After June 1, that drops below $20 million, but the seller who can only wait doesn’t get to set the price.

If we draw a parallel from the 2025 trade deadline, the Miami Dolphins’ asking price for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was considered to be too high, and no deal got done. By March 2026, Miami was swapping its own fourth-round pick in a trade with the Denver Broncos and still only got a No. 30 pick, along with a third-rounder.

AJ Brown’s discontent with the franchise won’t quiet down either. He has taken public shots at his teammates and coaches multiple times for his lack of targets in recent seasons. As a result, trade speculations and reports of internal discord had surfaced throughout last season. A single offseason can’t cool those dynamics.

The Tennessee Titans had moved him to Philly in 2022 because they couldn’t meet his contract demands. The Eagles got two seasons of peak Brown before quarterback Jalen Hurts started to spread the ball around and engage in a run-heavy approach. But after two seasons of public standoffs, a fresh start might be the best thing for both sides.

The Patriots know exactly what that looks like. After all, they just went through it themselves.

The Romeo Doubs problem

New England cut wide receiver Stefon Diggs for two reasons. One, his cap charge jumped from $10.5 million to $26.5 million. And two, he was facing felony strangulation charges from a December 2025 incident. He finished last season with 85 catches, 1,013 yards, and four touchdowns. These are solid numbers, but the money and the legal situation made the call easy for Foxborough.

The Patriots replaced Diggs by bringing Romeo Doubs from the Green Bay Packers and handing him a four-year, $80 million deal. On paper, the upside is that, just like Diggs, Doubs is a polished route runner who is comfortable with working the middle of the field. But then an NFL executive went on record with The Athletic and made the case for AJ Brown over Doubs.

“I was not high on Doubs,” the executive said. “They did not improve on the field from Diggs. Maybe they did off the field from a headache standpoint. It seems just a matter of waiting until June 1 passes for Philly to trade AJ Brown, who, in my opinion, is a declining player each of the last three seasons.”

Doubs’ stats don’t exactly support the harsh reading. He logged 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns last season. But his intermediate route production fell to a career-low 38th percentile. His contested drop rate was 23rd percentile, and he earned a run-blocking grade of 138th out of 144 qualified receivers. Green Bay never corrected these issues.

Additionally, in 2024, Doubs skipped two practices before a game against the Rams, got suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, and admitted afterward he’d handled it all wrong. The Packers have more reasons to move on than just his dropping stats.

Romeo Doubs can be a productive second receiver. But what he can’t do is force a defense to plan around him. Drake Maye needs someone who earns that attention. Doubs doesn’t generate it, and nobody else on this roster does either.

The executive’s take that New England didn’t upgrade at receiver wasn’t wrong. It was just describing the same dynamic that keeps the AJ Brown conversation alive. A second-round pick for two years of a healthy, motivated Brown is a defensible bet. What New England has built around Maye right now is not.