The Patriots didn’t just land A.J. Brown. They landed a player with a point to prove.
That’s the read from former Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty, who expects Brown’s first season in New England to come with a little extra edge after the receiver’s exit from Philadelphia. McCourty appeared on ESPN’s Get Up over the past week and said he believes Brown is headed for a massive year with the Patriots.
“I think he’s going scorched Earth in his revenge tour. He’s gonna be like that bad kid in the summer who’s been forced to stay inside and do summer reading.
Now he’s coming back to the playground to reassert his dominance. Being moved on by Philadelphia, traded to the New England Patriots, he is going to be with a superstar quarterback in Drake Maye and an offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels that knows how to get his key players the ball in positions to succeed.
So, I’m looking for a big season from A.J. Brown.”
That kind of outlook is exactly why Brown’s arrival has created so much buzz around Foxboro. The Patriots already made a splashy offseason, adding safety Kevin Byard III, receiver Romeo Doubs, and fullback Reggie Gilliam, but Brown is the move that changes the conversation.
It also closes the book on one of the franchise’s biggest misses. Seven years after the Patriots were expected to draft Brown in the first round and instead took N’Keal Harry, they finally brought him in - a move that will always sit alongside Bill Belichick’s name. For New England fans, that makes this deal feel overdue and all the more satisfying.
Brown’s fit with Drake Maye is what has people talking now. Maye is coming off a season that ended one vote short of MVP, and he finally has the kind of receiver who can tilt a game on his own. The expectation is that Brown can become the best wideout Maye has had in his young career.
The numbers back up the hype. Brown has topped 1,000 receiving yards in six of his seven NFL seasons. His biggest year came in 2022, his first season with the Eagles, when he posted 88 catches for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His time in Philadelphia clearly didn’t end smoothly, and reports suggested it wasn’t all positive behind the scenes. Brown reportedly asked for a trade earlier this year, and the Patriots were on the short list of teams he was willing to join.
That matters because the motivation seems obvious. If Brown really is coming in with a revenge mindset, New England could get the best version of him yet. McCourty certainly thinks so, and the Patriots would be happy to cash in if that chip on Brown’s shoulder turns into another huge season.
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Head coach Mike Vrabel came away impressed with how Rizy handled the moment, which gives the Patriots something worth monitoring as the preseason rolls on. Browns absence opens the door for more work in the coming games, and with the center spot now looking far less settled than it did a week ago, Rizy has a real chance to keep turning an emergency appearance into a legitimate audition. [Read more 🡒]