A.J. Brown suitors ‘scared off’ as fear of Maxx Crosby trade collapse haunts NFL teams

The collapse of Maxx Crosby’s blockbuster trade has spooked teams around the league.

One of the NFL‘s premium pass-rushers, Crosby was set to leave the Las Vegas Raiders for the Baltimore Ravens.

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A deal, which sent two first-round picks to Sin City in exchange, was agreed on March 7.

But four days later, the Ravens nixed the trade, and backed out over medical concerns that arose during a physical.

The collapse sent shock waves through the NFL, and appears to have some teams looking twice about giving up first-round picks for players with a history of injuries.

Like Crosby, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has dominated headlines this offseason.

He is said to be unhappy in Philly, and has been heavily linked to the likes of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams in recent weeks.

The Eagles, though, are demanding a high price for their No. 1 receiver, who has gone for more than 1,000 yards in six of his seven seasons.

If no team coughs up a first-round pick and more, general manager Howie Roseman is said to be happy with keeping Brown on the roster.

A.J. Brown suitor ‘scared off’ after Maxx Crosby trade issues

While Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes a trade is ‘inevitable’ ahead of the 2026 season, he revealed the Rams pulled out of their pursuit earlier this week.

According to the NBC reporter, that decision was based on fears over Brown’s ‘medical information’ — which arose as the LA franchise did their ‘due diligence’ on the player after Crosby’s collapsed trade.

“The Rams are out,” Florio explained earlier this week.

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“As I understand it, the Rams exited after reviewing the medical information that promoted the Ravens to say no thank you to Maxx Crosby.

“Now, it wasn’t at a physical, but there’s still ways you can check medial information without bringing a guy in.

“It didn’t get to the point, as I understand it, that they brought him to LA and gave him a physical and said go home… it didn’t get that far.

“But it got far enough that the Rams, in doing their due diligence, explored certain medical information that caused them to decide they are no longer going to pursue this.”

Florio went on to note that every NFL team will have a ‘different standard’ for what they’re willing to tolerate when it comes to injury risk.

“Every player, by the time he gets to his late 20s, will have something — if you really want to focus on it — that can freak you out if you’re about to give up the kind of stuff the Eagles are looking for,” he added.

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“(The Rams) are out now.”

Florio did not specify what the medical concern was.

Brown, though, has missed four games since the start of the 2024 season with hamstring issues, and has dealt with knee injuries in the past.

Patriots in pole position to sign want-away Eagles star

With the Rams pulling out of the race for Brown, the Patriots are now favorites to land Brown, should he leave Philly.

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NFL insider Ian Rapoport believes it could happen after June 1.

“There were various points that I really, firmly believed A.J. Brown was going to be traded,” Rapoport said Monday.

“The New England Patriots, who have had consistent dialogue with the Eagles and A.J. Brown, they are still in it.

“Part of the problem here and the reason why the cap number was such a big thing: If the Eagles traded A.J. Brown now, it would be $40 million gets accelerated into the cap in dead money.

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“If they do it after June 1, it’s just $20m. That’s $20m less. That is a lot of money. Trading him after June 1 makes sense.”

With the Eagles potentially looking for a post-June 1 trade, the Pats, or any team interested in Brown have plenty of time to do ‘due diligence’ on any deal.

The saga has already been running for months, and if New England is still in the sweepstakes, that would suggest they are willing to take a risk at this point.

But speaking on talkSPORT’s Across the Formation podcast this week, Will Gavin suggested the Eagles will struggle to get what they’re asking for.

“A.J. Brown has been a top five receiver at points, during the last three or four years,” Gavin said.

“The problem is, is anyone going to pay (what the Eagles want?)

“He’s not been easy for the team… he’s not got full on, off the field issues, or having full on meltdowns. But he’s also not proved particularly easy.

“What you’d need, is a wide receiver-needy team to miss out on who they really want in the draft. Say the Patriots don’t get the guy they want, and need to go all in.

“It all smacks a lot of the Eagles looking for more than people are willing to pay.”

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