NFL Insider Tom Pelissero: Expect an AJ Brown Trade before Eagles’ Training Camp

June 1 is the date the entire NFL has been circling on the AJ Brown situation. Tom Pelissero confirmed on the show that it is also the date the Philadelphia Eagles likely move on a trade.

"Ten days from now opens the window for the Eagles to make a final decision," Pelissero told Rich. The salary cap math changes substantially at 4 p.m. Eastern that Monday. After June 1, the Eagles can split Brown's dead-cap hit across multiple years instead of taking the full hit in 2026. That is the structural cliff that has been driving the timeline.

The team most likely to land Brown remains the New England Patriots. Pelissero noted the conversations between the Eagles and Patriots have been quiet over the past few weeks. He expects re-engagement to start the week of the deadline.

The two remaining unknowns are the compensation and whether any other team enters the conversation seriously enough to push the price. The Rams reportedly got close in March. Pelissero has previously said he would not be surprised to see them re-engage. The market, in his read, will sort itself out once the cap mechanics open.

"Hard to imagine it goes much beyond that," Pelissero said. He left a small caveat. If Howie Roseman does not get the deal he wants by June 1, Howie can keep extending the timeline. He could, in theory, put Brown back on the field for the Eagles and trade him later. Pelissero said anything is possible, but the entire NFL universe has been operating on the assumption that the trade closes within the window.

Brown himself will not be on the field in Philadelphia again in 2026, regardless of how the trade plays out. The Eagles and Brown have a mutual agreement keeping him away from voluntary activities. Mandatory mini-camp is the next pressure point. Pelissero said the Eagles can excuse Brown from that if no trade is done.

"I wouldn't think we get anything close to AJ Brown on the field in the Eagles uniform again," Pelissero said. "Even if the trade somehow doesn't come through."

The most likely outcome, in his read, is a trade by mid-June. The most likely destination is New England. The most likely shape of the deal is something in the range of a second-round pick plus additional compensation, with the Eagles possibly eating some of Brown's contract to facilitate the return.

Whatever the final shape, the AJ Brown era in Philadelphia is functionally over. The only question left is the exact day Howie Roseman gets the bid he wants.