What teams should trade for A.J. Brown?

The marriage between A.J. Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles has been as tumultuous as they come.

Despite winning a Super Bowl last season, Brown made headlines for criticizing the play of the offense and, more famously, reading a book on the sideline in the middle of a game.

This season, things have only seemed to get worse. Offensive production has taken a nosedive compared to last season, and even in Brown’s best receiving games, the Eagles still do not win.

It all culminated in a first-round playoff loss to the 49ers, where Brown was radio-silent. He finished with just three catches for 25 yards, one shouting match with Nick Sirriani on the sideline and a critical drop on the last drive of the game.

All signs point towards Brown being dealt this offseason, so which teams should make a push for the star wide receiver?

New England Patriots

Everything about this move would make sense.

The Patriots have one of the best rosters in the league, headlined by 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye, but lack a number-one receiving option.

Their leading receiver this year was Stefon Diggs with 1,013 yards, good for just 15th in the league.

Not often do you see a team dominate as New England has without a true top receiving talent. The Patriots went 14-3 this season and are still alive in the playoffs.

The Patriots also have $46 million in cap space heading into 2026, meaning they could take on Brown’s contract with an average annual value of $32 million.

In what will be his third season, the Patriots have a chance to give Drake Maye one of the premier pass catchers in the entire league next season to maximize an emerging championship window. Expect New England to make a heavy push for Brown.

Baltimore Ravens

On the other end of the spectrum, we have a team whose championship window is beginning to close.

After an 8-9 season, the Ravens just missed out on the playoffs in what was a catastrophic year. Lamar Jackson missed lots of time with injury, making a 1-5 start too much to overcome. This all culminated with the firing of coach John Harbaugh.

In a press conference on Tuesday, owner Steve Bisciotti made it clear that Baltimore is looking to compete for and win a Super Bowl. Fast. While the head coaching search is a big piece of that goal, finding another weapon for the Ravens’ offense could be another.

Outside of Zay Flowers, who has shown flashes of being a number one receiver, and Mark Andrews, who is coming off a down year, the pass catchers in Baltimore are bleak.

In his eight seasons as a starter, Lamar Jackson has yet to play with a perennial top-five wide receiver. A swing for Brown could help return Jackson to MVP form and give the Ravens one last push at a championship with this core.

Los Angeles Chargers

Right now, it doesn’t feel like a receiver is the most significant need in LA.

After all, the offensive line was a disaster this season, as Justin Herbert was under duress as much as any quarterback in the league.

However, by the start of next season, this could be a team that is one piece away from a contender.

Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are on track to be healthy for the beginning of next season, which will instantly improve that position group to one of the better cores in the league.

The defense will, barring any drastic changes, once again be a top unit in the NFL.

Then you look at the receiver room.

Ladd McConkey is good. Keenan Allen is solid, but he is nearing the end of the line physically. Quentin Johnston is one of the most inconsistent receivers in the league.

If the Chargers can acquire Brown to line up across from McConkey, they will become one of the best receiver duos in football. This would instantly open up the offense even more for Justin Herbert, who has proven to be one of the best talents at the position.

Los Angeles is in an incredibly tough division in the AFC West. With Denver looking like a contending staple under Sean Payton and the Chiefs being… the Chiefs, the Chargers would need to make a move to emerge as one of the AFC’s top dogs.

Buffalo Bills

Let’s avoid looking at the money for a second.

The most significant criticism of the Bills for years has been the lack of offensive help around Josh Allen. Whether or not that is fair, this year in particular has been rough for receiving talent.

Would a Josh Allen to A.J. Brown connection be the best in the league?

They would undoubtedly be in that conversation. Buffalo will always be contenders as long as they have Allen, but as we’ve seen across the league, windows do not last forever.

Now, the money aspect is what would make this deal tough. The Bills are already projected to head into the offseason over the cap, so moves would need to be made to free up some salary cap space.

You need to take a risk to win a championship. In the case of Buffalo, this would be one of the bigger risk-to-reward deals in recent history.

But sometimes, you have to take that swing.

Brendan Kern is a second-year student majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email bwk5372@psu.edu.