Patriots Reportedly Interested in AJ Brown, Who Made Interesting Social Media Change

The New England Patriots have the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft next week. If they keep the pick, they’re widely expected to take a top quarterback, whether it be LSU’s Jayden Daniels, UNC’s Drake Maye, or even Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. USC’s Caleb Williams is as close to a sure thing as it gets to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.

The Patriots, however, could also trade the pick, and recoup a massive haul of draft capital that could help them for the future. They already parted ways with their longtime head coach Bill Belichick this offseason, and this roster may not be good enough to compete in a loaded AFC, especially with a rookie quarterback.

But maybe it can be.

The Patriots are reportedly interested in Philadelphia Eagles superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown, who’s entering his second year of a four-year, $100 million contract, one that’s extremely backloaded. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer and NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry recently spoke about the interest.

“The Patriots are interested in receiver help, and I think they would be open to trading for a veteran receiver,” Perry said.

Then, it was brought up if the Patriots were specifically interested in Brown.

“They are,” Breer said. “They’ve inquired.”

For what it’s worth, Breer also said the Eagles have received numerous inquiries on Brown, and “shut them all down and told other teams that he is not available.”

End of the story, right? Well, not exactly.

NBC Sports Boston was having this conversation because Brown had some very interesting recent social media activity. Brown changed his profile pictures on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts to one Patriots legend: Tom Brady.

Brady spent 20 seasons with the Patriots, and ended his career as the undisputed GOAT, winning an NFL-record seven Super Bowl championships. Brady was a 15-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, three-time MVP, and five-time Super Bowl MVP. He’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes.

Brady retired from the NFL after the 2022 season, his third with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, there have been rumblings that Brady could make an NFL return. Breer shut down the idea of a Brady reunion in New England with Brown, though.

“No,” Breer said when asked if Brady would return to the Patriots. “This isn’t the sort of roster that Tom Brady would come back to, to begin with. I think if Tom Brady is gonna come back, it’s gonna be to some loaded roster that has a quarterback injury later in the year, and even that might not be likely. Maybe he was just saying that to stir the spot.”

Brady might not be coming back to New England, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the question for Brown. In 2020, Brown said he was “a big Patriots fan,” and that he “cried (his) eyes out” after they passed on him in the 2019 NFL Draft. If he still wanted to end up in New England at some point in his career, this could be the time.

Brown is coming off a dominant 2023 season in which he reeled in a career-high 106 catches for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2022, his first with Philadelphia, he had 88 catches for a career-high 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Eagles were looking like Super Bowl favorites through the first 12 weeks of the 2023 season. They were 10-1 and entered a Week 13 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers having just beat the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in consecutive weeks. Then, the wheels fell off.

The Eagles were smoked by the 49ers and Dallas Cowboys the next two weeks and ended up finishing the season 1-5. Their 11-6 record lost them the division, and they went to Tampa to face the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round, where they lost 32-9 in embarrassing fashion.

This offseason, the Eagles made a few big additions, adding two-time Pro-Bowl running back Saquon Barkley and signing defensive end Bryce Huff to a three-year deal. They also traded All-Pro edge rusher Haason Reddick to the New York Jets.

The Eagles have the No. 22 pick in the upcoming draft, and could potentially look to make a splash before the new season gets underway. Just two years ago, the Eagles were on the receiving end of a deal that landed them Brown in a draft-day trade with the Tennessee Titans.

For now, it appears the Eagles aren’t interested in trading Brown. But if they get an offer they can’t refuse, one that could allow them to snatch a top receiver while getting off of Brown’s backloaded contract, they could potentially be convinced otherwise.