How Eagles Have Leverage In A.J. Brown Trade After June 1
June is arriving for the Philadelphia Eagles, the month the sweepstakes for A.J. Brown can finally open up.
After months of wondering where Brown will end up -- or whether Brown could actually stay with the Eagles -- Philadelphia is expected to trade Brown after June 1. The likely destination is the New England Patriots, but things could change based on compensation and other teams getting involved.
The Eagles may not have a lot of leverage when it comes to trading Brown right? Brown doesn't want to be in Philadelphia any more as his relationship with the Eagles has deteriorated. The Eagles are willing to acquiesce to Brown's request to be traded, willing to grant his wishes.
Brown's contract plays a major factor in the trade as well, which is why the Eagles had to wait until after June 1 to trade him. Once the post-June 1 deadline hits, the Eagles can spread out the dead cap from Brown's contract over two years and that dead money won't count towards the cap until the following year.
Even though the deck of cards towards trading Brown appears stacked against the Eagles -- and their desire towards acquiring a first-round pick -- the Eagles still have leverage when it comes to trading Brown after June 1.
The Eagles can afford to wait
The Eagles have maneuvered their offseason with the outlook of trading Brown, not hindering their plans to revamp the wide receiver group and improve other areas of the roster. They still were able to trade up and select Makai Lemon in the first round of the draft and had a deal in place to acquire Jonathan Greenard.
How were the Eagles able to handle all this? Take a look at their salary cap.
Per the NFLPA, the Eagles have $26,286,209 in cap space available (12th most in the NFL). The Eagles only have one draft pick left to sign and more than enough room to make improvements to their roster without trading Brown.
Would the Eagles love to eliminate the Brown conversation? Absolutely, but they can afford to be patient. They have enough cap space to hold onto Brown until they get the draft compensation they want, and will create even more cap space in the short team once the post-June 1 deadline hits.
Other teams may enter the chat
While Brown has a desire to go to the Patriots -- and New England has a need for Brown -- there could be some hold ups in a deal where the framework may be agreed upon. Other teams may call the Eagles and try to gauge their interest in trading Brown to them.
The Los Angeles Rams were once interested and were reportedly offering a 2028 first-round pick for Brown. The Eagles would rather have a 2027 first-round pick for Brown, but a future first-round pick may get it done at this juncture.
Are the Patriots willing to offer that at this stage of the game? If there are other teams joining the sweepstakes for Brown, that may force the Patriots' hand and have them part ways with a future first-round pick.
The Kansas City Chiefs could even get involved. Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars and other teams.
A deal could be all but done with the Patriots already, but the Eagles can wait and see one final time if any other team would be interested in acquiring Brown.
This isn't the Eagles problem
Brown is the player that asked to be traded. The Eagles are just trying to fulfill his request in good faith.
The Eagles can afford to keep Brown around, even with $33 million guaranteed left in his contract. Brown's salary is fully guaranteed this season, which does play a role in the Eagles trading a player who doesn't want to be here.
Would the Eagles just tolerate a Brown "hold in" during mandatory minicamp and training camp? That's up to the front office to determine if they want Brown around, even though it would reach the point where Brown simply isn't playing for the organization.
Remember the Eagles can afford to keep Brown around, even if that isn't the best way to handle things. If business gets in the way, the Eagles could just hold out and wait for a team to give them the first-round pick they desire.
Both the Eagles and Brown could make this ugly, but that's not the likely way to go. This is an option if another team gets involved.
Brown will get traded when the Eagles feel they will get the right value back for him. Could be this week or it could be later this summer. The ball is still in the Eagles' court.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as How Eagles Have Leverage In A.J. Brown Trade After June 1 .
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 6:30 AM.