March 06, 2026
Tick...tick...tick...
Time is running out on the rest of the NFL to convince Eagles Executive Vice President of Football Operations to trade away star wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The NFL new league year unofficially begins at noon Monday with the free-agent negotating period. Teams with money to spend will start to spend it. The well of top-tier free agents – a small list this year – will dry up quickly.
As soon as Mike Evans, Alec Pierce and Wan'dale Robinson sign their deals, the game-changing receivers on the open market will be gone, and the price for Brown – a much better player than any of those three – could get feasibly higher.
As of Friday, it appears one wide receiver-needy team bowed out of the Brown sweepstakes when the Bills gave up a second-rounder for D.J. Moore, another receiver who's not nearly as good as Brown.
If some team is going to convince Roseman to pull the trigger – cough, Patriots, cough – it could happen anytime today or in the moments leading up to Monday's noon start of the legal tampering period.
Several reports suggest the Patriots are the front-runners but others indicate that New England has competition, while other reports have surfaced outlining what Roseman is looking for in exchange.
Let's sift through what's out there and make sense of it:
We wrote last weekend about a report coming out of the Combine from ESPN's Dan Graziano that teams believed Roseman's asking price was "too high," which shouldn't be a surprise.
Roseman has played this correctly the whole time, insisting that he doesn't feel the need to trade Brown while also saying he's open for business for the right deal.
Here's the latest on that asking price from Josina Anderson from "Exhibit News Network."
I'm told that the #Eagles have floated a 1st, 2nd, and a player asking price to the #Patriots in exchange for AJ Brown, at some point in talks, per league source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 6, 2026
Article Link for more. https://t.co/zeWfY0jFUv https://t.co/DMLJSVkhzN pic.twitter.com/h1Ub5nC5vZ
Great report - but what's up with that graphic?
Anyway, Anderson reports there's "no doubt" that Patriots coach Mike Vrabel desires a reunion with Brown, who he coached in Tennessee and – duh – the Pats kind of played their hand on Wednesday releasing Stefon Diggs after one season.
Diggs was far and away the best receiver for the defending AFC Champions, with 1,013 yards on 85 receptions. Their next-most-productive wideout was Mack Hollins, with just 550 yards on 45 receptions.
There's no way the Patriots will accept a step back while they still have Drake Maye on a rookie deal and after making the Super Bowl. They are, and should still be considered, the front-runner to land Brown.
Perhaps Roseman would be more inclined to get a 2027 first-round pick from the Patriots as opposed to this year's 31st overall pick. What are the odds that the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl next season, even with Brown?
It should be noted, per The Athletic's Dianna Russini, that Roseman has yet to field an actual offer:
While teams have been internally discussing potential trade packages for A.J. Brown, no team has made an official offer to the Eagles, per multiple sources.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 6, 2026
Multiple reports indicate that the Ravens and Chargers are also interested in Brown, which makes a ton of sense given each team's need for a true vertical threat.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the Ravens' interest:
The Bills trading for WR D.J. Moore would theoretically take them out of the A.J. Brown market. They checked in with the #Eagles about their wide receiver, from what I understand.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 5, 2026
Patriots and Ravens are the most likely potential partners, especially as I understand it, the… https://t.co/xBI7Pn4ViW
The Ravens have been getting by on veterans (DeAndre Hopkins, Nelson Agholor, Odell Beckham Jr.) for too long, and Lamar Jackson needs a complement for Zay Flowers if the Ravens want to get over their playoff hump and get Jackson to his first Super Bowl.
They could also lose wideout Rashod Bateman, who has underperformed, and tight end Isaiah Likely in free agency, so they'll need another weapon in the passing game.
As for the Chargers, who Russini reported are "keeping tabs" on Brown, they badly need a field stretcher to fit their new offense under coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Their 2023 first-round pick, Quentin Johnston, was supposed to be that guy, but he's only shown flashes. He had 51 catches for 735 yards last year and eight touchdowns – good numbers, but not enough to give Justin Herbert a major weapon to pair with Ladd McConkey, who does his best work in short and intermediary areas.
Now, here was another interesting report from Russini:
The Rams discussed trading for Brown but have moved on. https://t.co/yV2R4E7Nxc
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 6, 2026
The Rams? Are Puka Nacua and NFL touchdown leader Davante Adams not enough for Sean McVay?
More importantly, why on Earth would Roseman trade Brown to the Rams for anything short of a historical haul given that the Rams will be one team surely standing between the Eagles and the NFC title.
The Rams on Wednesday traded one of their two first-round picks to the Chiefs for cornerback Trent McDuffie, to whom they're about to give a mega extension, so it's safe to say they're probably done with the idea of trading for Brown.
Despite their firepower in Adams and Nacua, the Rams lack a third receiving option, which forced McVay to play about a dozen different pass-catching tight ends this year. (OK, not that many, but you get the point).
Give the Rams credit for being all-in.
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