FOXBOROUGH - Mike Vrabel has heard that some (me included) think the Patriots overpaid to acquire A.J. Brown, and that it signaled a win-now mentality. He had a sharp response to that.
“We have to win,” Vrabel remarked. “That's our job, is to win. It's a job and responsibility, and the expectation in the National Football League. It's not to go 4-13 two years in a row, if that's what you mean.”
Now that we’ve settled that…
The day after trading a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, Brown was already in Foxborough, passed his physical (more on that in a minute) and was on the practice field. His participation was more that of a learner than a doer - Brown spent most of his time stapled to WR coach Todd Downing’s hip. That will certainly change as the soon-to-be 29-year-old learns the playbook.
“There's a force to the way that he plays the game, so looking forward to getting used to the things that he can do that I don't know about, which I'm sure there are many of those,” Josh McDaniels said. “Had an opportunity to have a few different receivers come into our system at times, and then you just, you've heard about them, you've seen them, you've watched them play on tape, but then to actually get them on the grass and watch them do different things, it just brings the picture to life. So, looking forward to seeing all those things.”
Brown’s time in Philadelphia, statistically, was an incredible success. Four 1,000-yard seasons, two Super Bowl trips and one win. But he grew disenchanted over the last couple of seasons. I wondered why.
“I won't get into details about it, but you know, I'm excited for this opportunity,” he said. “I'm here now … None of that stuff matters. What’s done is done.”
Easy to be dismissive (in a polite manner), but certainly a question that makes you wonder, as we do with all of these receivers, when the honeymoon will end, as it did for a championship-level team in Philly? But we are a long way from that. For now, Brown is saying, “Obviously I know this isn’t heaven. But it’s close to it” when asked about now playing for the team he grew up rooting for (he wanted to be like his cousin).
Vrabel, who was the driver of this deal, isn’t oblivious to that history, even if he