What is Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst cooking up, if anything? In a highly competitive NFC North, the latest scuttlebutt on NFL back channels suggests that the Pack could be sizing up another Micah Parsons type of pro football landscape-altering trade.
It involves a familiar trade suitor Gutey just did business with not many moons ago. This hypothetical blockbuster is centered around a disgruntled superstar who's a three-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion. His name is A.J. Brown.
Recognizing that Brown plays a position where the Packers are flush with talent already, that only strengthens their case as a prospective trade suitor. In theory, Green Bay could serve up somebody viable enough in a Brown trade to get the deal over the line.
Let's dive more into this bombshell of a rumor that could turn the entire NFL on its head.
Packers could sneak back to the well in Philly for a blockbuster A.J. Brown trade with the Eagles
In the latest episode of the Sharp or Square podcast whilst recapping NFL Draft betting, professional bettor Simon Hunter name-checked the Packers as a sleeper team to trade for A.J. Brown:
"I know everyone swears A.J. is going to the Patriots. I've heard whispers about Green Bay being another team that's sneakily in the conversation for A.J. Brown. Obviously the Eagles already have a relationship. They just traded for Wicks from this Green Bay team. But when I heard that, it made sense after I saw what happened in the draft, right? They didn't really do anything offensively. They love their offense."
Just a little bit of context and backstory to verify the veracity of this statement. Hunter isn't some acclaimed NFL insider, yet he clearly knows people in the league.
Look no further than when Hunter dropped hints that the Los Angeles Rams were in the running to draft Ty Simpson as far back as March 31. Hunter's sharp intel arose from two sources in the Rams organization: one in the front office, and one in the scouting department (skip to the 34:18 mark of the video):
"Using these contacts, I'll never give up sources, and that's why I'll never ever say the first thing. When someone calls me like, ‘Hey, you hear this?’ I will never say if I did or not, because I always think it’s a trap of them trying to figure out who else I'm talking to on their team. And so, I know someone in the front office of the Rams, and I know someone that’s in the scouting department. They both gave me five to six names, but they only both said the same name twice. Ty Simpson was one of the names they both said, and this was four weeks ago, so right away, I'm like, ‘OK, if a front office guy saying Ty Simpson, and a scout is saying it, that means both pieces of this organization like this guy. I did not see it going at 13, though."
Hunter uses insider information to color his betting analysis and inform his personal wagers. This is not to say, with 100% conviction, that the Packers will trade for A.J. Brown and outbid the Patriots or any other suitor. It is coming from a longtime runner for a sports betting syndicate who has sources.
Say what you will about his public-facing betting record, but Hunter is plugged-in. His cohost, Chad Millman, is the former editor-in-chief of ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. Millman wouldn't entertain unfounded speculation for the sake of it.
Again, this is a rumor that Green Bay is merely laying in the weeds and is in the running for A.J. Brown. Not an assertion that he will definitely be a future Packer. But it is most noteworthy that the Pack are linked to Brown in any way, shape, or form.
We good?
OK. Onward to what this would mean for the Packers. Obviously, scoring someone like A.J. Brown is the type of destiny-altering move Gutenkust and the front office must at least consider. The Eagles don't have much leverage, since it's all but a foregone conclusion that Philly will get rid of Brown after the June 1 deadline that makes a trade feasible against the salary cap.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman isn't likely to settle for less than a first-round pick, yet as our poor guy Anthony Miller at Inside the Iggles just wrote — Anthony is understandably a tad tired of the Brown trade coverage — Roseman could take a 2027 second-rounder plus a player for Brown. Miller cited a Patriots-Brown trade package from CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan that includes that draft compensation and New England wideout Kayshon Boutte.
A similar deal could work out well for the Pack, no? They don't have a 2027 first-round pick due to the Micah trade, but a second-rounder and, say, free-agent-to-be Christian Watson? That could work; so, too, could a 2028 first-round selection, straight-up.
Not that Green Bay would move off Watson lightly. That said, Watson's elite deep speed is a great match for go-ball-happy Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. A compelling match indeed — and a way for the Packers to not only get something in return for Watson's expiring contract, but upgrading in the process.
If the Packers served up a 2027 second-rounder and 2028 first-rounder for Brown, and somehow kept Watson, they'd really be cooking with gas. Jordan Love would have an embarrassment of riches and explosive weapons to throw to. That may only last for one year, and Green Bay might regret paying such a premium, yet Brown is the type of offense-changer who could be worth it.
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