Throughout the offseason, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has had to field questions about A.J. Brown’s future with the team.
The saga will now be put to rest, as Brown has officially been traded to the Patriots.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the deal went down, Sirianni was complimentary of Brown’s time with Philadelphia. But he quickly pivoted to players who are currently on the team.
“I would say there was a lot of good years here, and done a lot of good things with AJ here — two times in the Super Bowl, I think he was [an] All-Pro multiple times, Pro Bowl multiple times,” Sirianni said. “So, I would say it was a good run.
“But, really excited about that room that we have. DeVonta Smith has had a really good offseason, has had five good years of being an Eagle as well. Very, very productive. And excited that he’s going to get extra opportunities that he works so hard to… that people convert that. Really excited about Makai and where he is this offseason and just his ability to catch the football, his toughness. I think that’s a great addition to that room.”
Sirianni continued on to mention Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, Darius Cooper, and Johnny Wilson by name.
As for Sirianni’s input on the trade itself, the head coach said he and General Manager Howie Roseman discuss everything.
“What a good teammate that I have with Howie Roseman to be able to go to battle with,” Sirianni said. “So many things that [Brown] did that [were] good for our football team and always will wish him the best of luck. But, like I said, really excited about the guys in that room and where we are. But this is a team game, to your question, and every decision that I make and decisions that Howie makes, we talk to each other about it.”
The Patriots are holding their mandatory minicamp this week, but one of their top picks from the 2026 draft is not taking part.
Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters at a Tuesday press conference that second-round pick Gabe Jacas is not with the team. Jacas is not signed, but other draft picks who have yet to sign contracts with their teams have participated in offseason work after signing an injury protection waiver.
Vrabel declined to say why Jacas is not with the team this week, but did refer to the edge rusher having a medical procedure of some kind this offseason.
Jacas had 11 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss during his final season at Illinois.
A.J. Brown made his official farewell to Philly on Monday, when he was traded to the Patriots. He returned to the building to get the last of his things later in the week, and he left something behind.
On a wall with photos of the team’s Pro Bowl player, Brown applied his signature. He added a message to it.
“The best to ever play here,” Brown wrote, via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. “Always open.”
One of the issues during his final year in Philly was that he was at times open but the ball didn’t come his way. Did that trace to whatever caused the relationship between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts to change?
At this point, it doesn’t matter. Brown will now attempt to be “always open” for quarterback Drake Maye. Which could help Maye take the next step from No. 2 in the MVP voting to No. 1.
The Patriots have announced their schedule for this summer’s training camp.
The team will report to camp on July 24 and their first practice will be held the next day. It will also be the first of 13 training camp practices that will be open to the public.
Patriots fans eager to get a glimpse of wide receiver A.J. Brown and other new additions will also be able to attend practices on July 26-28, July 30-31, August 1, August 3-4, and August 7.
The final three open practices of the summer will be joint sessions with other teams. They’ll practice with the Colts on August 11 before an August 13 preseason game and the Pats will also host the Eagles on August 19 and 20. Their final preseason game will be at Gillette Stadium on August 22.
The Patriots have taken care of some important business with their rookie class.
New England has signed first-round pick Caleb Lomu, the team announced on Monday.
Lomu, an offensive tackle, was selected out of Utah with the No. 28 overall pick in April. The Patriots traded up to get him, giving up the No. 31 overall pick and a fourth-round pick to the Bills for the selection.
With Will Campbell on the left side, Lomu is expected to slot in at right tackle for the Patriots.
New England now has just one remaining unsigned pick, second-round linebacker Gabe Jacas.
