Patriots' newcomer offers bold, public recruitment pitch to A.J. Brown

All-Pro safety Kevin Byard made a pitch to his former teammate and star wide receiver, A. J. Brown, to come to the New England Patriots and help the team try to win a Super Bowl.

Byard and Brown played together for three seasons under Mike Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2021. They then briefly reunited with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. After leaving Philadelphia, Byard spent his next two seasons with the Chicago Bears.

The veteran safety ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Patriots in the offseason and unintentionally fueled speculations of Brown being traded to New England after images surfaced of the two working out together. Byard denied having any inside information on the Brown and Patriots trade rumors, but he took the opportunity to make his own pitch to the three-time All-Pro wide receiver.

"He's a great teammate. I've literally watched him grow as a player and a person. He's a phenomenal guy. He's a family man, and we actually trained together in Nashville," Byard said on NFL on CBS' Offseason Playbook. "So I'm going to be the first one to say that A.J., I would love for you to come join us in New England. Trust me, I see the rumors, I see everything going down. ...A.J. Brown, come on to New England, buddy."

The Eagles could move Brown ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, but the expectations are that the team will wait until after June 1, when they can avoid a $40 million dead cap hit. So far, the Patriots are viewed as the likeliest destination for the star wideout.

Of course, things could change depending on what happens in the draft. A top wideout could fall to the Patriots, or another team could emerge with a bigger need at receiver and potentially drive up the trade price for Brown.

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