NFL Insider Tom Pelissero on Patriots' Expectation Level for New WR AJ Brown

The Patriots got A.J. Brown, and now they have to live with what that means.

NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero broke down the deal on The Rich Eisen Show, and the picture that emerged is one of calculated optimism sitting right next to some genuine questions about Brown's knee.

The trade itself came down to one number. Pelissero told Rich that both sides had been locked in on New England's 2028 first-round pick going to Philadelphia for quite some time. The Eagles had zeroed in on that asset early. The only debate was what additional pick would round out the package. The answer: a 2027 fifth-rounder. Once that was settled, Brown was a Patriot.

But the knee conversation is the one that lingers. Pelissero noted that the knee had been a concern when the Rams were involved in a potential trade, and that it was a significant factor when the Titans under then-GM Jon Robinson decided not to pay Brown back in 2022 and traded him away instead. Brown addressed it publicly, pointing out that he missed just one game in four years with the knee. Pelissero didn't dispute the claim, but he did point out who's actually positioned to manage it. "If anybody knows the state of that knee, and how you put together a practice plan to keep him healthy, it's going to be Mike Vrabel and the Patriots," Pelissero said. Todd Downing, Brown's former offensive coordinator in Tennessee, is now his receivers coach in New England. Ryan Cowden, who was in the Tennessee front office, is now in New England as well. The people who know the knee are already in the building. "I don't know how much A.J. Brown will practice, frankly, at any point in his Patriots tenure," Pelissero said, adding that New England will have a good plan to get him on the field regardless.

The age math still works in New England's favor. Brown is only 28, and Pelissero said the Patriots believe he has good years ahead of him. He noted that belief had better be right, because the first-round pick they surrendered is still two years away.

Rich brought up comments Brown made on a podcast, including his admission that some of his public statements in Philadelphia were calculated attempts to spark the locker room. Pelissero took the story at face value, noting that Brown is a smart and engaging guy who was clearly choosing his words carefully over time. But Pelissero also flagged what Brown said about Jalen Hurts, characterizing the split not as one incident but as a gradual drift. "It wasn't one thing. People drift apart," Pelissero said, noting the two were not as close by the end of Brown's Eagles tenure as they were at the start.

Now both players face elevated expectations in new environments. Pelissero laid it out plainly for Brown: the anchor is off, he gets to play with Drake May, and he needs to at least match what Stefon Diggs did in that offense the year before. For Hurts, the distraction is gone, but he's stepping into a new offense that Pelissero noted is not necessarily geared toward his specific skill set, with a receiving corps that includes Mecole Hardman, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown.

A June trade costs both teams something beyond picks and players. Pelissero made the point that the timing, as late moves go, means lost reps developing the rhythm and timing that makes passing offenses function. Both teams are betting the integration happens fast enough that it doesn't matter.