'We Can Move on Now,' Everything Eagles Players Said About A.J. Brown After Trade with Patriots

Several Philadelphia Eagles players weighed in on the team's decision to trade wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots on Monday.

Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata discussed the uncertainty of Brown's future with the organization throughout the offseason before he was ultimately dealt.

"Yes, we can move on now," Mailata said, per Zach Berman of The Athletic. "I think most of us that have been here the last six weeks, we have moved on, just from, we have enough to worry about. Getting over last year, and then coming in here and learning a new scheme and new concepts, like we had to press on. So that's what we were doing. I think this is more of a — it sounds terrible — but like, thank God it's over. It was a slow pain of just, is he in, is he out? We didn't really know, and that really wasn't our focus as a team, our team, especially on offense. But we got to keep these wheels moving, we got new guys coming in, we got rookies coming in again, we got to build that culture every year."

Meanwhile, DeVonta Smith explained his mindset as he prepares to be Philadelphia's new No. 1 receiver.

"I'm just going out there and do my job," Smith said, per Berman. "Regardless of how you want to look at it — One, two, three, four — however you want to look at it, at the end of the day, we all have jobs."

Eagles star cornerback Quinyon Mitchell said that he'll miss battling with Brown in practice, via John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Patriots acquired Brown from the Eagles in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

His change of scenery didn't come as a major surprise, with Schefter reporting April 20 that a trade to New England was on track to happen on or after Monday.

The Eagles also traded up to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft, while the Patriots elected not to draft a receiver and previously released veteran Stefon Diggs.

Brown will immediately become a key piece of New England's passing attack, as he's coming off a 2025 season in which he hauled in 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.