After the Super Bowl loss, Mike Vrabel stressed to his team how little they’d been together. And he told them the Patriots would be back. Now, they’re pushing their chips in and trading for AJ Brown. Free story here: nytimes.com/athletic/7094186…

FIFA (supposedly) has rules for broadcasters during World Cup hydration breaks. Fox broke them during the very first game, and even missed match action showing commercials... nytimes.com/athletic/7352632…

The Drake Maye to AJ Brown connection is already paying dividends for the Patriots. Free gift link: nytimes.com/athletic/7349062…

Drake Maye to AJ Brown at Patriots practice.

Josh McDaniels on finding mismatches for AJ Brown: “He’d probably be the first one to tell you that he is a mismatch.”

Would the Patriots bring back Stefon Diggs? Mike Vrabel: “We’re happy with where we’re at.” Vrabel added that he’s appreciative of what Diggs brought a year and noted “he helped us win football games.”

The Patriots have three difficult contract situations to navigate as minicamp opens. Story: nytimes.com/athletic/7345817…

Kayshon Boutte at Patriots minicamp after skipping OTAs: “I wouldn’t mind being here. I do want to be here.”

Christian Gonzalez on why he is here at minicamp amid a desire for a contract extension.

Christian Gonzalez is here at Patriots minicamp.

Mike Vrabel said Kayshon Boutte and Christian Gonzalez — who both missed voluntary OTAs — will be limited at minicamp this week.

Mike Vrabel said Patriots second-round pick Gabe Jacas, who has not signed a contract yet with the Pats, is not present today for mandatory minicamp.

The Patriots announced 13 open training camp practices for the public to attend. Here are those dates and times:

The Patriots have signed first-round pick Caleb Lomu to his rookie contract. Second-round pick Gabe Jacas is now the only of their 9-person draft class who isn't yet signed.

Why were the Eagles willing to wait until 2028 for the A.J. Brown trade return? Inside the Eagles' strategy — one that has been in the organization for decades and has guided the thinking on deals from A.J. Feeley to Haason Reddick, on @TheAthletic: nytimes.com/athletic/7334269…

Included in this: A great video with PGA Tour highlights because (news!) @TheAthletic officially has video rights, which will include highlight packages from each tournament and reporter-led videos with awesome tour content Soon, we'll also have formal leaderboards on the app

My overall view on the deal... - A.J. Brown wanted to play elsewhere and it was going to be untenable to keep him. At that point, it was finding the right deal. - They were able to land a 1st-rd pick, which was key for them. I'm not one who views the '28 pick as a downgrade if they planned for the '26 season accordingly. The long view has served them well in previous trades, and with the Patriots in particular, the unknown of '28 could be advantageous. - A '26 pick would have been appealing to help this year's roster, but the Eagles wanted the post-June 1 date for cap purposes. That's the tradeoff they needed to make. - There's no spinning the team being better off this season because of this deal. They're worse tomorrow than they were yesterday. A.J. Brown is an elite player. But they also had a long runway to plan, and they've made enough moves for an intriguing passing game if the Hurts-Mannion partnership is fruitful. - I can't imagine there were celebrations in the building today. Howie Roseman moved mountains to try to land a player like Brown. He's popular in the locker room and well-regarded in the organization. They signed him to a new deal hoping he'd finish his career here. For it to end this way is not ideal, but it's the business. - I'd imagine it's natural to have some bitterness when somebody wants out, but Eagles fans should look fondly at Brown and the past 4 years. It was the best 4-year run by an Eagles WR ever. He made two Super Bowls (caught TDs in both), rewrote the record books. And isn't part of the joy of being a sports fan witnessing greatness? That's what Brown offered.

Caught up with Howie Roseman. Much more to come on @TheAthletic later this evening. Roseman made clear that the Eagles required a first-round pick if they were going to satisfy Brown's desire for a fresh start elsewhere. That was the line in the sand for Roseman — even if it was a down-the-road pick.

AJ Brown will wear No. 1 with the Patriots.