The A.J. Brown saga continues. Will the Philadelphia Eagles trade away their star receiver that was very frustrated with his workload last season? Or will they hang onto him and hope, with the help of Sean Mannion’s play calling, he can get back to playing the same high-level football he was back in 2024 when they won the Super Bowl?

The A.J. Brown trade rumors have been going on for a while, and many are starting to think it’ll never happen. But don’t let your guard down just yet. On the latest episode of the DraftCast, EssentiallySports NFL Expert Tony Pauline said the Eagles are not closing the door on an A.J. Brown trade. They’re just waiting for the right offer to be put in front of them.

“The Eagles are not going to close the door on trading AJ Brown if the right offer is put in front of them,” Pauline said on the latest episode of the DraftCast. “That right offer may not come until draft day — AJ Brown himself was traded from the Titans to the Eagles on draft day. Howie Roseman will hold out and try to get as much as he can. He’s probably going to get more on draft day than he would right now.”

Not long ago, the Miami Dolphins were able to fetch a first and a third while swapping fourth-round picks for Jaylen Waddle. That seemed to set the market for Brown. I know Brown is older and costs almost $4 million more per year, but he’s a better all-around receiver, so I don’t see him being traded for anything less than Waddle.

That price may seem pretty steep for a soon-to-be 29 year old making $32 million a year, but that does not mean teams aren’t interested in making a move for him.

Patriots Still Have Real Interest in A.J. Brown

The New England Patriots are a team that’s been rumored to be in on the A.J. Brown sweepstakes since the start, but their interest has not died down, even though the Eagles don’t seem to want to move off of Brown for anything lower than their asking price.

“Sitting at LaGuardia after our meetings in New York, I was watching the Schrager hour on TV and I got a text from my Patriot source saying a lot of the same things (Pauline said) — the TJ Maxx analogy is a New England thing,” EssentiallySports NFL Content Chief Tim Wood said. “The Patriots are looking to call the Eagles’ bluff too. There’s no reason to overpay now. Wait and see what filters out on draft day. Howie Roseman is not going to accept less right now.”

If the Patriots, or any other team for that matter, does make a move for Brown, it likely won’t be any time soon. Draft night is when a player’s value is at its highest, and with both teams picking late in the first round, they could be negotiating all night long until the Patriots come on the clock at No. 31.

What A.J. Brown Could Do For New England’s Offense

A.J. Brown is 28 years old, so he still has a lot of great football ahead of him, and has put up 1,000 yards ever single season he’s played 14+ games. At 6-foot-1, 226 pounds, Brown is a dominant outside receiver that is a quarterback’s best friend. Throughout his two-year career, Drake Maye hasn’t really had a receiver like Brown. I know Stefon Diggs still put up numbers last season, but he’s towards the end of his career and isn’t the same receiver he used to be.

I know the Patriots just signed Romeo Doubs to a fairly big deal, but he’s not a WR1. He can be a great WR2, but he needs someone opposite of him to take the attention of of him. If the Patriots were able to trade for Brown, he wouldn’t just be a great target for Maye, but he’d also open things up for Doubs on the other side of the field.

Maye put up phenomenal numbers last season without a truly dominant wideout. If you give him someone like A.J. Brown, I don’t even want to know what his stat sheet would look like. He was the MVP runner up this year, so you’d have to think he’d be one of the favorites to win the award next year if they added someone like Brown.