It may not make the most financial sense to trade AJ Brown in the 2026 offseason, but the Philadelphia Eagles certainly didn't close the door on the idea when they had the chance to do so at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was noncommittal about Brown's future with the team, and so was head coach Nick Sirianni. While Sirianni said he "can't guarantee" that Brown will be part of the team, Roseman left the door open for teams to make calls, because to him, it doesn't hurt to listen.
If the Eagles are truly willing to trade Brown this offseason, there is one other NFL team that just makes way too much sense to trade for him. It's a team whose head coach already has significant history with Brown, dating back to his first years in the NFL.
Patriots are the most obvious team for AJ Brown if Eagles will actually trade him
If there's one team that you would think would do whatever it takes to trade for AJ Brown this offseason, it would have to be the New England Patriots.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was with the Tennessee Titans when Brown was drafted once upon a time, and he was also still with the Titans when former GM Jon Robinson made the shocking decision to trade Brown to the Eagles in the first place. That was a move Vrabel very openly did not like or agree with.
Vrabel still has a strong connection with Brown to this day, and the two are very close. If there's any team that would potentially even give up a 1st-round pick for Brown, it would have to be the Patriots.
New England just made it to the Super Bowl in Vrabel's first year at the helm coaching the team. They got outstanding production this past year out of free agent receiver Stefon Diggs, but Diggs has been such a distraction off the field that I don't think the Patriots would hesitate to move on if given the chance.
Brown is also younger than Diggs, and would give Drake Maye a dynamic weapon to eat up targets and be an "easy button" for the offense.
When asked directly about the possibility of trading for Brown, Vrabel said that the Patriots would look at "everything" they can to upgrade the roster, but you already know he would love to get Brown in New England this coming season. For a team that was so close to another Lombardi they could taste it, the Patriots could view a player like Brown as the missing piece.