The turnaround for the New England Patriots once Mike Vrabel took over as their head coach was near-instantaneous, going from a four-win team to being Super Bowl contenders. But after getting blown out by the Seattle Seahawks on the biggest stage of them all, it seemed clear that they needed major upgrades.

That came in the form of a trade for superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown to bolster the receiving group around Drake Maye. Unfortunately, at nearly the midway point of the 2026 season, the deal hasn’t worked out quite as seamlessly as the Patriots may have imagined.

Why Patriots Fans Are Reassessing The A.J. Brown Trade

Disgruntled with the state of the offense on the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown went public with his criticisms. As a result, a divorce felt inevitable, and it finally became official during the 2026 offseason.

Joining a team with Maye, who finished second in MVP voting and was one of the best deep passers in the league, felt like a match made in heaven. But so far this season, fans haven’t gotten to see the two form a lethal connection.

After getting injured in the first game of the year, Brown was placed on injured reserve. He returned in Week 6, but his performances in the two games since have been far from stellar. Now, a knee injury that has put his status in jeopardy for Week 8 has raised alarm across the Patriots’ fan base.

“In June, Eliot Wolf acknowledged A.J. Brown had a degenerative knee condition, but the Patriots medical staff signed off on the trade,” Mark Daniels revealed. “Fast forward to this week, and Brown has a knee issue that’s flared up, and his status for Sunday is up in the air.”

One fan instantly recalled another team, the Los Angeles Rams, that had backed out of the idea of trading for the three-time Pro Bowler, stating, “Rams passed on him for this reason.”

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jeff McLane previously said Los Angeles had reviewed Brown’s medical information during trade discussions but was not satisfied with what it found.

Another fan was aghast at how things were turning out, proclaiming, “This is trending toward one of the worst trades the Patriots have made in my lifetime.”

New England has already been forced to lean on other receiving options, including Demario Douglas. The situation has become more challenging with Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins also sidelined on injured reserve, leaving the Patriots increasingly thin at wide receiver.

Doubs is currently ranked 38th, while Douglas is #39 in PFN’s Wide Receiver Impact Metric.

“Very obvious he did this overcompensating for the ankle he wasn’t ready to be back on,” one fan argued, believing his stint on IR needed a longer recovery period.

“The Howie Roseman Special,” one fan declared, pointing to the Eagles’ general manager, “Why GMs continue to allow this guy to fleece them is beyond comprehension. In 18 months, all the talk will be about how the Pats have no first, and the Eagles are set up to dominate the draft.”

He wasn’t the only one to see the trade as a genius move from Roseman,as another fan seconded, “Lesson learned: don’t trade with Howie Roseman.”

Some fans, though, turned their attention to their head coach. Despite his success last season, they pointed the blame at him for the trade. Given the history between Vrabel and Brown from their days with the Tennessee Titans, there was a clear bond between the two.

But the degenerative knee condition might have given other teams pause when it comes to parting with a first-round and a fifth-round pick for a receiver turning 30 next year.

“Vrabel definitely pushed the chips to bring him in the most,” one fan claimed.

“Eagles fans have been calling this out all offseason. Pats fans thought we were just hating,” one fan admitted. “The explosiveness is gone. The knee issues came back in late 2024, and he hasn’t been the same player since. It’s not going to get better, only worse.”

To that end, even an Eagles fan admitted that the situation seemed worse than it had been previously, writing, “I liked our return and thought that AJ looked less explosive last year, but this is way more of a disaster for the Patriots than I thought it would be.”

It remains to be seen if he can turn things around. But with his Week 8 status up in the air, Patriots fans have a reason to sweat over his availability.