Eagles trade A.J. Brown to New England Patriots. Here's how Philadelphia prepared for the move.

For months, Howie Roseman has responded to questions about A.J. Brown's future in Philadelphia with the same stock answer: "He's a member of the Eagles."

Well, that's not the case anymore.

The Eagles finally traded Brown to the New England Patriots Monday, ending a saga of rumors and reports that dominated the news cycle and left everyone in the Delaware Valley fatigued. 

The Eagles received a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Patriots in exchange for Brown, pending a physical. In New England, Brown will reunite with Mike Vrabel, who coached him earlier in his career with the Tennessee Titans.

Brown thanked the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia on social media after the deal was announced.

"Eagles nation, thank you for welcoming my family and me with open arms from day one," Brown wrote in part. "This city, this locker room, and this fan base will always hold a special place in my heart. To my brothers in that locker room - thank you for going to battle with me every single day. The memories we made together, on and off the field, are something I'll carry with me forever."   

Brown won a Super Bowl and went to another in four seasons with the Birds. He was arguably the best wide receiver in franchise history, and the most talented since Terrell Owens. 

While Brown is a significant loss, the Eagles have spent the offseason preparing for his inevitable departure and retooled the receiver room. 

How the Eagles prepared for trading A.J. Brown

Replacing Brown's production won't be easy. When he's at his best, Brown is among the most dominant and talented wide receivers in the NFL.

But Roseman has spent the offseason investing significant resources at wide receiver ahead of Brown's exit. 

The latest move Roseman made at wide receiver came during the 2026 NFL draft, when he leapfrogged the Pittsburgh Steelers and selected USC wide receiver Makai Lemon with the No. 20 overall pick.

Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best wide receiver in college football, last season as a junior at USC. He had 79 catches for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games and earned First-team Associated Press All-American and First-team All-Big Ten Conference honors.  

In April, the Birds acquired Dontayvion Wicks in a trade with the Green Bay Packers and signed him to a one-year contract extension. 

Before that, the Eagles added two veteran wide receivers in free agency. They signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore to add depth at the position. 

At tight end, the Eagles brought back Dallas Goedert, who led the team in touchdown receptions in 2025. They also drafted Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, the Mackey Award winner, in the second round after Lemon. 

What the A.J. Brown trade means for DeVonta Smith

With Brown gone, DeVonta Smith is now cemented as Philadelphia's No. 1 wide receiver. 

Smith, 27, has played second fiddle to Brown over the past four seasons in Philadelphia, but now he'll have a much larger role in the offense under new coordinator Sean Mannion.

Some within the Eagles' organization believe Smith could have a similar jump in production to what Jaxon Smith-Njigba had with the Seattle Seahawks once the team moved on from DK Metcalf, according to PhillyVoice. 

Smith has been a "man possessed" in the offseason about becoming a No. 1 wide receiver, James Palmer of Bleacher Report and The Athletic reported. 

Smith, a former Heisman Trophy winner, has posted three 1,000-yard seasons in Philadelphia since Brown joined the team in 2022. The former University of Alabama star led the Birds in receiving yards last season for the first time since the two played together, but Brown still had more targets.

Why it made sense for the Eagles to trade A.J. Brown on June 1

The Eagles' plans to trade Brown had been one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL, but it never made sense to do so before June 1. 

If the Eagles traded Brown before June 1, they would've taken on a dead cap hit of more than $40 million, according to OverTheCap.com.

By trading Brown on June 1, the Eagles will take on a dead cap hit of less than $20 million. 

For reference, when the Eagles traded former quarterback Carson Wentz in 2021, they took on a $33 million dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history at the time.    

Looking back at A.J. Brown's Eagles career

When the Eagles acquired Brown during the 2022 NFL draft, he went on FaceTime with quarterback Jalen Hurts. The moment went viral as the two shared a moment that provided some hope for Eagles fans. 

After years of trying to land a prolific wide receiver, they had finally done it. 

Despite only playing four seasons in Philadelphia, Brown will go down as one of the best — if not the best — receivers in franchise history. 

Brown completely changed Philadelphia's offense when he joined the team. He had back-to-back seasons with 1,400-plus receiving yards (1,496 in 2022 and 1,456 in 2023) in his first two years. Those marks are the top two in a single season in franchise history over former Eagles greats Mike Quick and DeSean Jackson. Brown is the only player in Eagles history to record 1,400-yard receiving seasons back-to-back.

In 2023, Brown had 106 receptions, the most by an Eagles wide receiver in a single season. Brown also set an NFL record by recording 125-plus receiving yards in six straight games. Former NFL wideouts Calvin Johnson and Pat Studstill previously had the record at five games.

The Birds went to the Super Bowl in Brown's first season, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. They went back two years later and got revenge.

But for as much success as Brown had in Philadelphia, he became frustrated with his role in 2025, and that wasn't the first time.

Last season, Brown became vocal on social media through cryptic posts and even said on a Twitch stream that his fantasy football owners should drop him.

In 2024, after Brown made comments about the struggling passing game, Eagles legend Brandon Graham hinted there was friction between Brown and Hurts. Graham later apologized, and Brown and Hurts downplayed them. 

The Birds went on to win their second Super Bowl that season, and Brown went viral for reading a book on the sideline during a playoff game along the way, but rumors that he could be traded continued. 

Last season, as Brown continued to post on social media after games, including after wins, Jeffrey Lurie reportedly got involved. In a meeting during practice, Brown told the Eagles owner he would stop complaining on social media, according to ESPN.

Barring a return to Philadelphia later in his career, Brown's time in an Eagles uniform ended on a sour note after an ugly playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, when he had multiple drops and had a heated sideline exchange with head coach Nick Sirianni.

Brown had the chance to rewrite the Eagles' receiving records book by the time his career ends. Now, he'll be playing — and likely still posting cryptically on social media — for another team.