Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Brown's camp has done its homework on the trade market and identified four teams as preferred destinations: the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Chiefs, and New England Patriots.
The problem, as Breer quickly noted, is that most of those teams were unlikely to seriously pursue him.
Buffalo is no longer involved after completing the D.J. Moore acquisition.
AJ Brown to the Chiefs 👀
— NFL Brainiac (@NFL_Brainiac) April 29, 2026
Would that make them unstoppable… or are we overreacting? 🧠
Say it with your chest ⬇️ #NFLTalk
The Chargers redirected their offseason spending toward the offensive line and edge rusher after signing Khalil Mack.
And Kansas City, while on Brown's wish list, faces its own complications.
"Ditto on the Chiefs, who are zeroed in on the running back spot, and have a desire to replenish the roster with the picks they got in the Trent McDuffie trade," Breer wrote.
That leaves the Patriots as the most logical destination, and the one where the most consistent reporting has pointed.
Why the Chiefs Made the List at All
The Kansas City angle is not hard to understand.
Brown would be joining a Patrick Mahomes offense that already brought back Travis Kelce for at least one more season and added Kenneth Walker III at running back in free agency.
Adding Brown to that group would give Mahomes a true No. 1 receiver for the first time since his early career, an outside weapon capable of winning in contested-catch situations and against press coverage.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94 WIP spoke on the interest, noting that the Philadelphia Eagles and Andy Reid's relationship helps, that Brown would have a chance to play with Mahomes, and that he could fill the kind of role a player like Terrell Owens once did in Kansas City.
🚨If the #Chiefs miss out on Tyreek Hill they could workout a trade with #eagles to land WR AJ Brown. Kansas City has already been reported to have called about Brown. Per sources pic.twitter.com/Txc15Eo9Te
— John LeBron (@John_LeBron6) April 29, 2026
Brown's $29 million cash earnings in 2026 on top of a cap hit of $23.4 million is also a significant number for a team trying to manage its books.
The situation between Brown and the Eagles has been described as at a standstill, with Philadelphia in no rush to move before the June 1 cap date makes the dead money manageable.
The Patriots remain the frontrunner, because Mike Vrabel's familiarity with Brown from their Tennessee days together makes the fit obvious, and New England has the cap space to absorb the contract without strain.
Brown's wish list included Kansas City. Now we wait and see what happens.
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
