FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Eyes on A.J.: When Patriots receivers went through drills in practice last Wednesday, fourth-year pro DeMario “Pop” Douglas always took the first repetition.
Will that be A.J. Brown this week?
It is a question that has swirled around the NFL for months, with ESPN NFL senior insider Adam Schefter reporting in April that a deal between the Philadelphia Eagles and Patriots is tracking to happen on or after June 1 — a key date because the Eagles can spread Brown’s $40 million cap charge over the next two seasons.
The Patriots are scheduled to hold voluntary organized team activities Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and seeing Brown on the field would add some sizzle to a headline-making offseason.
More importantly, he could fill the sizable No. 1 receiver void created when the Patriots released leading pass catcher/emotional spark plug Stefon Diggs in March. The team signed soft-spoken Romeo Doubs as part of the plan to replace Diggs, but that might not be enough for a Mike Vrabel-coached club looking to defend its surprising AFC championship.
“A.J. can still play. He would give the Patriots a legit, bona fide No. 1 wide receiver and a person in that room who can be a leader,” said former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon, who currently is a Sirius XM NFL Radio host. “Having the experience of playing under Vrabes [with the Titans from 2019-2021], he can also be a good purveyor of the message and teaching everyone else in the room what he is looking for.”
Not to mention a 6-foot-1, 226-pound target for quarterback Drake Maye to help diversify the passing game under coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“When motivated, A.J. Brown is still a higher-level wideout in the league,” said Greg Cosell, the NFL Films and ESPN “NFL Matchup” analyst. “He’s as physical as they come. He can work between the numbers as well as any receiver in the game because of his size, hands, competitiveness and ability to catch through contact.
“While he is not a burner by any means, he does have a great feel for attacking corners’ leverage and blind spots, and therefore, at times, can be a vertical dimension.”
If the Patriots acquire Brown, who turns 29 on June 30, they would become the second team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl and then trade for a player who had 1,000-plus receiving yards the prior season.
The only prior instance was the 2017 Patriots, who traded for Brandin Cooks (1,173 receiving yards in 2016 with the Saints) after winning Super Bowl LI.
Brown would join Doubs (6-2, 210), Mack Hollins (6-4, 221) and speedy second-year pro Kyle Williams (5-11, 190) as projected roster locks at receiver, with the staying power of 2025 starter Kayshon Boutte (5-11, 203) less certain after he was reportedly available in a trade during the draft. Douglas (5-8, 185) and Efton Chism III (5-10, 198) are also among the mix to stick as more slot-based targets.
“They need to do it. When you look at the Patriots receivers, they don’t have that identity. And the thing I picked up last year, no one was really afraid of them,” said Rodney Harrison, the Patriots Hall of Famer and “NBC Football Night in America” analyst.
“When you put that 6-2, 225-pound guy out there, it gives the offense a different look and forces defenses to respect that. He would give them a toughness and open up so many things from a strategy standpoint. He still has it. When A.J. is engaged and excited to play and feels like he’s a big part of the game-plan, there’s not many better than him.”
Carthon noted that Brown doesn’t have the same speed as he did earlier in his career, which is commonplace as receivers age, and that a team acquiring him would need to assess the condition of his knee when determining the trade price.
“How much time do we truly believe he has left in the tank? And the other part is ‘Where are we in terms of his contract [which extends through 2029]?’ Is he looking for more money, more guarantees, or is he just looking for a fresh start to come to a place and work with people he knows?” he said.
“So you really need to dive into that and understand that situation — will he miss practice time, how will he respond to playing on a different surface — grass vs. turf? Those are the things you have to have a game-plan for.”
One member of a coaching staff that game-planned against Brown last season shared respect for him as a player, noting his physicality, while adding that he wasn’t viewed as a priority in the Eagles’ simplistic offense and faded at times if not targeted early in games.
Meanwhile, a scout noted Brown is coming off a season with his lowest average yards per reception (12.9) but is still going to win in most contested situations — and should have that number spike playing in a pass-friendly offense with a top-caliber quarterback.
Carthon sees the benefits for Maye, the MVP runner-up entering his third NFL season.
“Size, strength; A.J. is a guy who can win with bodies draped on him. Then if you give him the ball with space, he can run after the catch. That’s what he would bring to the group — a guy that Drake Maye could look and say ‘even when he’s covered, he’s open.'”
Harrison sees another less tangible benefit to the Patriots.
“He wouldn’t just impact the offense. He would provide so much excitement and confidence throughout the locker room,” he said. “If you can add a top-five to top-seven wide receiver to your roster, that is big from an emotional standpoint. This team has gone through an emotional sore getting over the Super Bowl and then what happened with their head coach, so it would give them an emotional boost.
“Not only that, you get a dawg. You get a guy with an attitude that is going to affect every single wide receiver there, every player, because he is a tough guy. It gives you an identity that you can be a big, physical offense.”
Question: Do you have to resist putting on your GM hat and saying, ‘trade for A.J. Brown’ because you played with him in Philadelphia?
Milton Williams: “Definitely. You see the noise. Shoot, helluva player. He can definitely help our team. But they don’t pay me to do that.”… pic.twitter.com/8Z28EUPpOJ
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 27, 2026
2. Gonzo absence: Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez was not present at Wednesday’s organized team activity open to reporters, and he hasn’t been part of the team’s voluntary work of late, according to a source.
Gonzalez had participated in the team’s voluntary offseason program each of the prior three seasons. The change coincides with this offseason marking the first time Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension.
3. Maye game: Teams are set for the inaugural MayeDay Softball Classic Sunday at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts.
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Team Patriots: Drake Maye, Ann Michael Maye, Will Campbell, Mike Onwenu, Hunter Henry, Pop Douglas, Rhamondre Stevenson, Romeo Doubs, Zdeno Chara, Beau Maye, Cole Maye, Luke Maye, Megan Keller, Jill Saulnier, Mike Vrabel (manager/player)
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Team Sox: Christian Gonzalez, Brenden Schooler, Tommy DeVito, Marcus Jones, Mack Hollins, Robert Spillane, Jared Wilson, Julian Edelman, Jack Westover, Dave Portnoy, Matt Rife, Will Smith, Matty Beniers, Josh McDaniels (manager/player)
Tickets are sold out, with a home run derby starting at 6 p.m. ET, followed by a game at 7 p.m. that should end around 8:30. The night is expected to conclude with fireworks. Proceeds benefit the MayeDay Family Foundation.
“I haven’t hit a softball, so hopefully some of the guys on the team will be hitting,” Maye cracked. “It should be fun.”
4. Onwenu contract: Starting right guard Mike Onwenu could have held his ground, insisting he wouldn’t adjust his contract that called for him to earn a base salary of $17.5 million in 2026. He seemed to have some leverage as the team didn’t draft a guard and has unproven depth at the position. At the same time, Onwenu had no guaranteed money left on the deal, making it easier for the Patriots to move on from him.
So the sides reached a compromise last week, with Onwenu taking a $7.5 million pay cut but receiving $10 million in guarantees/bonuses, in addition to $2 million in possible incentives. That locks him in for a seventh season in New England as the team’s longest tenured player.
5. Boutte’s path: Boutte previously said a catalyst for his 2025 season was reporting to training camp in shape, with receivers coach Todd Downing crediting him last August for “really turning the corner in being a professional football player.”
How Boutte follows that up in 2026 bears watching, as he has taken a different approach in not attending the team’s voluntary offseason program for the first time in his four-year career.
“I have a great amount of respect for Kayshon, watching him mature and grow through the entire time that we spent together,” Vrabel said. “The communication is, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Are you working hard?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I like where I’m working out at.’ [Then it’s] ‘We’ll be here ready to coach you when you’re here.’
“That’s been very positive, and I would imagine that he would pick up where he left off and grow on the season that he had last year [33 catches, 551 yards, 6 TDs].”
Boutte, who is scheduled to earn a base salary of $3.67 million in the final year of his contract, would be among the receivers most impacted by the acquisition of Brown as the both mostly align on the outside.
6. Developing Doubs: Maye’s first pass in full-team drills last Wednesday went to Doubs on a tight-window slant. Doubs looks like a Jakobi Meyers-type fit in the scheme in terms of aligning in multiple spots and finding open space to make life easier on the quarterback. Along those lines, Maye said the chemistry between them is building.
“I have to learn how he likes to do things,” he said.
7. Carthon’s key: The former Titans general manager said the offensive line is the position group that interests him most in New England. Specifically, how 2025 third-round pick Jared Wilson looks in his move to center, which is “his more natural position.”
“From a physical standpoint, I think he has a chance to be really good at center,” Carthon said. “And also seeing the mental part, because there’s a lot on the plate of a center in Josh’s system, and how he works together with Drake Maye. One of the best friends to a quarterback is a center.”
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Ryan Clark: Patriots will miss playoffs due to tough schedule
8. Rodney’s radar: Harrison is curious about whether the team has enough depth in the secondary because of the inevitable injuries at the position. And Gonzalez’s absence from the voluntary offseason program caught his attention.
“They’re playing with fire,” he cautioned. “This is a young stud corner you drafted.”
9. They said it: “We want a get-back, kind of not feel like last year was just a ‘one-off’ year. We’re trying to prove ourselves to ourselves, and to this football league, that we’re a tough team to beat. We’re going to bring it every day. That identity is what we’re building here.” — Maye, on approaching the 2026 season compared to 2025
10. Did you know: The Patriots are the first team to appear in a Super Bowl and then start the next season with four straight games against teams that made the playoffs, according to Elias. Overall, the Patriots are the ninth team in the last 40 seasons to begin their schedule with four straight games against teams that made the playoffs in the previous season.
