A.J. Brown in 'awe' to join childhood favorite Patriots, declines to discuss end of time with Eagles

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A.J. Brown got his wish for a fresh start when he was traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the New England Patriots.

Less than 24 hours later he was on the field, wearing the jersey of the team he grew up rooting for and adding renewed optimism about the future.

“I’m still in awe. Still trying to adjust,” Brown said after participating in his first offseason workout with New England Tuesday. “Walking up the hill with the uniform on, I was like, ‘Man, this is real. I’m here.’ ... There’s levels to it and I’m enjoying it.”

Those levels come from a player who acknowledged “a tough night” watching the first round of the NFL draft in 2019 when the projected first-rounder wasn’t selected by New England, passed on by the Patriots who took N'Keal Harry with the No. 32 pick just months after winning their sixth Super Bowl.

“I was already in my car leaving my draft party, went back to my room and I went in the closet just kind of trying to gather myself because I was just disappointed.,” Brown recalled. “(New England) was where I wanted to be. Obviously, I wanted to play with Tom (Brady). So, that didn’t happen. But everything happens for a reason.”

Brown is now clear of what was a frustrating final season in Philadelphia in which he expressed concerns about the direction of the offense.

He declined to discuss what he thinks went wrong at the end of his time with the Eagles.

“What’s done is done. And I’m here,” Brown said.

He kept things light for his first day, doing a lot of observing while participating in limited 11-on-11 snaps with quarterback Drake Maye and the offense.

It didn’t dim the excitement for the coaching staff or his new teammates.

“Not sure if I’ve been around one that looks just like him,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “Maybe the closest thing I’ve seen is Gronk (Rob Gronkowski). So this is a big guy. He does a lot of things well. And I’m looking forward to seeing how we can acclimate him and fit him into our system.”

Tackle Will Campbell said Brown is a game-changer.

“He’s obviously been able to do some incredible things in this league,” Campbell said. “It obviously elevates everybody around him.”

The Patriots have been viewed as a likely landing spot for Brown since they released receiver Stefon Diggs in March, taking away Maye’s top option during last season’s Super Bowl run.

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, now reunited with the player he coached for three seasons in Tennessee, said Brown’s signing was the culmination of a negotiation with Philadelphia that “stalled” initially before ultimately reaching the finishing line.

“Just trying to improve our football team every possible way. Give our offense multiple weapons to build on what we did last year,” Vrabel said.

The expectation is for Brown to play on the outside, though Vrabel said he will learn all receiver positions in the offense.

Brown, who will turn 29 on June 30, was durable during his four seasons in Philadelphia, playing in all 17 regular-season games in 2022 and 2023, dropping to 13 during the Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl title season, and then 15 in 2025.

Asked if there were any concerns about Brown possibly having a degenerative knee issue, Vrabel said managing any ailment would vary from player to player.

“Just based on looking at his availability in the games that he’s been able to play in and be there for his team, I think that hopefully leads to future availability," Vrabel said.

Brown said his knee isn’t an issue.

“No injury. Nothing to worry about,” Brown said. “Maybe in four years I’ve missed one game from a shot to the knee. I’m good. I’m ready to go.”

The Patriots moved up their mandatory, three-day minicamp to begin June 9. Whether Christian Gonzalez will be there remains an open question.

New England’s standout cornerback is playing under the rookie contract he signed after being drafted in the first round in 2023. He’ll make $2.8 million this upcoming season. The team also picked up his fifth-year option for the 2027 season, which will pay him just over $18 million.

He’s now eligible for a long-term extension, which the team has been working on. While that process plays out, Gonzalez has not been present for voluntary offseason workouts.

“I think that the contract is the business and the professional side of this,” Vrabel said. “I want Christian to be ready when he comes back. And I would imagine that he would be here next week."

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New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown works out during an NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown reaches for a pass during an NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown works out during an NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown smiles during a media availability following an NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil, charging that the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are “unreasonable’’ and that “burden or restrict U.S. commerce.’’

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he received the decision “with indignation.” He also blamed the decision by the U.S. administration on his rival in October's elections, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, once nicknamed “the Trump of the Tropics” by his allies.

The announcement late Monday came after an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, charging Brazil with lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other things.

The U.S. has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.

U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that he and President Donald Trump had “constructive’’ meetings with Lula and other Brazilian officials. But he said that “we continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues identified in this investigation.’’

Lula on Tuesday cited other reasons for the punishing tariff proposal. For the first time he named an American official as a hurdle to his relations with Trump and once again he threatened to retaliate.

“I spoke to President Trump for three hours, and that Marco Rubio guy, the head of the State Department, he is anti-Latin American,” Lula said. “He is a deadly enemy of Cuba, a deadly enemy of many Latin American countries. I already told Trump that he does not like Brazil.”

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond a request for comment from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Brazil’s government said in a statement that its dialogue with American counterparts, which includes “personal involvement of Presidents Lula and Trump,” is being ”sabotaged by merely electoral and family matters” of the Bolsonaros.

It added that it hopes “the recommendations do not become effective tariffs.”

“But we stress we will adopt every measure that is capable of reducing the damage that might be caused to the national economy, to the jobs and the income of Brazilians,” the country's government said.

Last year, Trump had slapped Brazil with a 50% tariff, mainly to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his electoral defeat in 2022. Trump's relationship with Lula seemed to have improved early May, when the Brazilian visited the White House.

But last week, the Trump administration designated two Brazilian gangs as terrorist organizations, after Sen. Bolsonaro's visit. Lula opposes the designation, which analysts say could bolster his political rival.

Sen. Bolsonaro published in his social media channels a statement he said he sent to Rubio, in which he criticizes the potential new tariff hike for it would cause “serious damages to the Brazilian people — precisely the citizens that see the United States as a partner and a friend.”

“I am writing to formally repeat the request I did to you in person, that the U.S. do not impose tariffs on Brazil,” Sen. Bolsonaro said.

Greer’s office has scheduled a public hearing July 6 on the proposed tariffs.

Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding, noted said that the administration’s plan excludes more than half of U.S. imports from Brazil, including aircraft and key minerals.

The Trump administration invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to launch the investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.

Sen. Bolsonaro travelled to meet officials in Washington last week in the wake of a scandal at home in which he admitted receiving funds from a disgraced banker. Another son, former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, was also present.

On Tuesday, Trump posted a photo of the Bolsonaros in the Oval office on his social media site.

“These sons of Bolsonaro can be worse than him. They are actually sellouts of our country, they went there to ask a foreign nation to meddle in Brazilian affairs,” Lula said in a speech to residents of the city of Catalao, south of capital Brasilia. “They are traitors.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump overstepped his authority by using a different law – the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 – to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.

However, Section 301 tariffs have survived legal challenges, and the administration is likely to use that authority to impose other tariffs and to recoup some of the tax revenue lost when the Supreme Court rejected the IEEPA tariffs.

Brazil’s president said that during his visit to Washington early May, he handed Trump documents showing that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil.

Documents published by the U.S. Trade Representative show that last year, U.S. exports to Brazil rose nearly 11% to $54.4 billion. Brazilian exports to the U.S. fell 5.7% to $39.9 billion, meaning the U.S. had a trade surplus of more than $14 billion.

The trade imbalance for services is more lopsided in favor of the U.S., with services exports in 2024 reaching $29.6 billion, quadruple the Brazilian services exports to the U.S.

“I am not going to cry about it,” Lula said. “If they (the U.S.) don’t want to buy from us, we will sell to someone else.”

China has been Brazil’s biggest trading partner for about a decade.

Mauricio Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.

FILE - Goods imported from Brazil are displayed at Amazonia Brasil, a Brazilian goods store, in Newark, N.J., Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - A farm employee processes coffee berries at Boa Esperanca farm in Braganca Paulista, Brazil, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)