New A.J. Brown Rumors Reveal Eagles' Current Stance on Trade Amid Patriots, Rams Talks

Even though the volume of trade chatter around A.J. Brown has quieted down after the first few days of free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles star is still on the radar for teams looking to add a high-level wide receiver.

However, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported Friday evening that the Eagles "will not trade A.J. Brown at this time" after "serious conversations" with both the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots.

While both teams remain interested in the star receiver, "no move is imminent," Russini added.

The news comes after Russini reported that the Rams are continuing to "monitor" Brown's status as the Eagles weigh their options going into the 2026 season.

Russini also reported the Patriots are also making a "strong" push to acquire Brown, with both teams showing "heavy interest."

Russini previously reported on March 6 that the Rams had discussed a move for Brown but moved on. The story came two days after Los Angeles agreed to acquire Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs for a package of draft picks.

The Rams, much like the Eagles, are a team that always pops up whenever a notable player becomes available.

Prior to Kyler Murray being released by the Arizona Cardinals and subsequently signing with the Minnesota Vikings, there was speculation that he would also talk with teams that might not have an immediate starting job opening but might be in the market in 2027.

The Rams would fit that bill with Matthew Stafford essentially playing on a year-to-year basis at this point. There is a history of quarterbacks going through the Sean McVay-Kyle Shanahan system as a backup for a year and emerging much better, with Sam Darnold being the prime example following his one-season run as the backup with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.

A potential trade for Brown would likely require the Rams to make other moves to fit his $23.4 million cap hit in 2026 onto their books. They currently have $20.5 million in cap space before factoring in a potential new contract for Stafford.

If the Rams do adjust Stafford's deal, they could lower his current cap hit of $48.3 million to create room for another large salary.

There's also the question of whether or not the Eagles will even go through with a Brown trade. Any potential move always seemed more likely to come after June 1 given the cap ramifications on Philadelphia's end to move him.

Even if there is a post-June 1 trade, the Eagles would only save $7 million against the cap in 2026.

In that scenario, any potential draft asset they receive wouldn't come until next year, so it would presumably depend on how significant the return is it for a team that has aspirations of being a Super Bowl contender this season to trade its best wide receiver without getting back anything that can help them in 2026.

In this hypothetical scenario, though, the idea of a Rams offense that led the NFL in scoring last season and accounted for nearly 20 percent of the total points allowed by the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks between the regular season and playoffs (65 of 338) adding Brown to a receiver room alongside Puka Nacua and Davante Adams would be extremely easy to get excited about.