The New England Patriots have been in desperate need of a top wide receiver for several years now, and they may have a Super Bowl champion on their radar.
Armed with around $130 million in salary cap space, the Patriots are expected to pursue a No. 1 wideout in the coming weeks. They had been linked to Tee Higgins, but Higgins was franchise tagged by the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. DK Metcalf and Brandon Aiyuk have been viewed as potential trade targets for New England.
Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston discussed some of New England’s options during a Tuesday appearance on WEEI’s “Jones and Keefe” show. The longtime reporter said Higgins, Metcalf and Aiyuk are “not gonna happen” for the Patriots. Curran believes Philadelphia Eagles star AJ Brown is in play, however.
“AJ Brown is a much more reasonable get. Why would the Eagles divorce themselves from him? I don’t know exactly, but that’s reasonable. I also think that Davante Adams and Chris Godwin are very reasonable,” Curran said.
Brown did not have his best season with the Eagles this year. He was productive with 67 catches for 1,079 yards and 7 touchdowns, but he had more than 1,400 yards in each of his first two seasons in Philly. He seemed frustrated at times this past season as the Eagles leaned heavily on Saquon Barkley.
There were times when Brown butted heads with Sirianni, and the two even exchanged words during the Super Bowl.
Brown began his career with the Tennessee Titans when Mike Vrabel was the coach there. Vrabel is now the head coach of the Patriots, so perhaps that connection would help New England in a potential pursuit of Brown.
Brown also once said he was devastated that the Patriots didn’t draft him, though that was when Tom Brady was still the team’s quarterback.
Brown is just 27 and remains one of the most dominant wide receivers in football. Even if the Eagles were to shop Brown in trade talks, they would likely attach a massive asking price to him.
