A.J. Brown was a hot topic after the Philadelphia Eagles’ season ended in the wild card round to the San Francisco 49ers. The frustration between him and the team seemed to boil over and lead to an imminent trade this offseason. Teams reached out, engaged in negotiations, but in the end the Philadelphia Eagles opted to keep Brown for the time being. Maybe it was Kevin Patullo’s miserable offense that hindered him and nothing else.
After serious conversations with both the Rams and Patriots, the Eagles will not trade A.J. Brown at this time, according to multiple league sources.
Both teams remain interested, but no move is imminent. If a trade were to happen, it would likely heat up closer to June 1.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 13, 2026
Regardless of why the Eagles decided they want to keep Brown in the city of Brotherly Love, it now forces the teams that were heavily pursuing him to pivot. The Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos were all teams linked to Brown in potential trades. Now they have to find a new solution. Here’s how each one of those teams can find a replacement option if they don’t want to wait out Philly revisiting trade talks.
Los Angeles Rams
Solution: Sign Marquis Brown
The LA Rams were in the market for Brown and the only way a trade was going to work is if they offloaded Davante Adams as part of the deal. They don’t need to make a big splash signing at this point so they could either turn to the NFL Draft or sign someone like Marquis Brown. Brown is a low-risk, high-reward move. Brown needs to find some semblance of success at this point in his career.
He wouldn’t need to do much with Adams and Puka Nacua ahead of him. But he would be the perfect player for this offense. The Rams are going to pass the ball and spread it around. Brown will have his opportunities to find his role with this offense. It would give the Rams one more playmaker while not breaking the bank unnecessarily when Adams is still a great target when he’s healthy.
As for the draft, they could still land someone in the second or third round, but it would be a developmental project. They have to decide if that’s the route they want to take or invest in a veteran that could still produce at a good enough level.
New England Patriots
Solution: Sign Tyreek Hill
Yes, Tyreek Hill is coming off a major leg injury and yes that will most likely play a role in his production. But New England still needs a true No. 1 target. Hill, for now, can be that for them. Romeo Doubs was brought in to be the future top target. For a year, Hill can be the go-to guy. Let’s not forget, his first two seasons in Miami he eclipsed 1,700 receiving yards. With Drake Maye throwing to him, he’ll no doubt improve this offense.
I’m not saying he’ll even be a 1,000-yard receiver next year, but he’ll be a big play target that will absolutely give Maye more than enough comfortability to pick up where this past season ended. Depending on his recovery, we’ll know if Hill can return to even a fraction of what he was before he got hurt. He’s at the point in his career where he’s not the focal point of the offense and he’s at the point where he won’t be as lethal as he was, injury or not.
That’s exactly what the Patriots need right now. They signed Doubs to be their guy. They’re signing Hill to make this offense a bit more potent than it was in 2025.
Denver Broncos
Solution: Sign Stefon Diggs
The Denver Broncos have to find a true No. 1 target and there’s no reason why they don’t sign Stefon Diggs. He shouldn’t be nearly as pricey as he was last offseason, with Spotrac projecting an $13.8 million AAV, an $8 million drop from last year. Diggs had 1,013 yards last season, his seventh 1,000-plus yard season in the last eight seasons. He can still produce. The caution here is will Bo Nix actually get the ball to him?
The Broncos’ offense is contingent on Nix not making mistakes, but he hasn’t really had a receiver worth forcing the ball to. The only reason you sign Diggs is to take this passing offense to the next level. Cortland Sutton did finish with over 1,000 receiving yards last season for the second straight year.
If Denver was interested in Brown, they know they need more star power in their receiving room. Diggs brings that and it now forces defenses to decide which receiver they’re going to take out of the game. Nix had nearly 4,000 passing yards last year and led the Broncos to the AFC title game. Adding Diggs could be exactly what this Broncos team needs to make their offense more threatening.
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