It was the trade that everybody saw coming.

The Eagles shipped A.J. Brown to the Patriots on Monday afternoon in exchange for a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, ending the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver’s run in Philadelphia that included a Super Bowl championship, standout offensive seasons and plenty of off-field headlines.

The trade is contingent on a physical, but there are no expectations that it will hold up a deal that had been speculated about for months before the Eagles made the move.

For the Patriots, the trade instantly gives second-year quarterback Drake Maye a No. 1 receiver after New England moved on from Stefon Diggs during the offseason and reunites Brown with head coach Mike Vrabel, who was coach of the Titans during Brown’s tenure there.

Vrabel spoke glowingly about the wide receiver during the combine in February.

“I think the relationship with players — and, specifically, you asked about A.J. — has meant a lot,” Vrabel told reporters at the time. “I watched him grow. I watched him mature. I’m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I’m proud of the husband. And that has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played.

“So those are the things that are important. We reach out, text each other during the things that happen good to each other. And sometimes things don’t go so well for the people that you’re close with and you text those, as well. So it’s been a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us to where we are here today.”

Brown is inked through the 2029 season after he had signed a three-year contract extension in June 2024 and the decision to make the trade after June 1 helped the Eagles split up the dead cap hit of more than $40 million that Philadelphia will take on.

The new Patriots receiver finished the 2025 season with 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns, but the yardage was the lowest of his career, and Brown had become disillusioned with the Eagles offense and his role in it.

He made headlines over his relationship with head coach Nick Sirianni and with comments about his frustrations with the team’s offense in media sessions and on social media.

Brown, who turns 29 later this month, wanted a fresh start, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Monday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I think he just felt for his family, at this stage of his career, it was something that he was desiring, that he was looking to do,” Roseman said during a conference call. “I think that, again, the conversations with him overall were positive. I think it just kind of got to a point where it made some sense from both sides.”