Patriots' Milton Williams, Drake Maye make feelings about A.J. Brown trade rumors clear

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley sounded like a player who understood he soon won't have wide receiver A.J. Brown as a teammate. 

The Eagles are widely expected to trade Brown to the New England Patriots as soon as next week. Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams is no stranger to sharing a locker room with Brown, and Williams suggested on Wednesday he'd welcome the opportunity to do so again.

Milton Williams: Having A.J. Brown would help the Patriots

"You (hear) the noise and you see it," Williams said about the Brown trade rumors, per Mark Daniels of MassLive. "Shoot, hell of a player. He can definitely help our team, but they don’t pay me to (make those decisions)."

Williams was Brown’s teammate with the Eagles for three seasons, and the two were part of the team that won Super Bowl LIX in February 2025. As for Brown, he reportedly wants to once again play for New England's Mike Vrabel. The two first worked together when Vrabel was Brown's head coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 through the 2021 season.

"Great dude," Williams added about Brown. "Monster on the field, great in the locker room, holding guys accountable and holding himself accountable. I feel like that’s everything you want in a player of his caliber."

Drake Maye sounds ready to throw passes to A.J. Brown

The Patriots won't officially acquire Brown before June 1 for reasons related to the salary cap. That said, New England quarterback Drake Maye seems hyped to finally be able to throw passes to Brown at some point this spring and/or summer. 

"Yeah, I think it’s part of the NFL," Maye said about the rumors linking Brown with the Patriots. "They throw names around there, around every team, depending on whoever looks best in the graphic, in the jersey, on social media. I’m really just focused - we got some new guys in here that I’m working with. I know there’s a lot of talk with that, but if he ends up being on our team, great. What a great player. And if he doesn’t, we still have to work these guys here. So it’s a balance. But I know he’s a phenomenal player."

It remains to be seen how much longer Maye will have to wait before he can start referring to Brown as a phenomenal teammate.