June 1: Key NFL Date Approaches With Potential A.J. Brown Trade

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I don't want to make it seem like the start of the NFL season is just around the corner, but the start of the NFL season is just around the corner. As of today, we're just 100 days away from the first game of the season, which will come on Sept. 9 when the Seahawks host the Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch.

Today is also a big day because it's June 1, which might be the most infamous date on the NFL offseason calendar. If I had taken a drink every time I heard the words "June 1" this offseason, I wouldn't have been sober for a single minute. Why is June 1 important? And why have the Eagles been waiting until June 1 to trade A.J. Brown ?

We'll answer those questions in today's newsletter. Plus, to celebrate the 100-day milestone, we'll take a look at the 100 most important players of the 2026 season.

As always, here's your reminder to tell your friends to  sign up for the newsletter . It makes the perfect graduation gift, mostly because it's free. Alright, let's get to the rundown.

1. Why June 1 is such an important date on the NFL calendar and how it impacts A.J. Brown

June 1 is one of those dates that gets thrown around a lot during the NFL offseason, but not everyone knows what it means, so let's break it down.

During the offseason, each NFL team can cut up to two players with a post-June 1 designation. If a team uses this label, the player's salary cap hit can be spread over two years. If it doesn't and the player is cut before June 1, the team has to absorb the entire salary cap hit that year.

Let's look at Tua Tagovailoa as an example of how this works. The Dolphins quarterback was cut by Miami in March with a post-June 1 designation. If the Dolphins had not used the designation, they would have had to absorb Tua's entire dead cap hit of $99.2 million in 2026. However, because they gave him the post-June 1 label, they get to spread that hit over two years (2026 and 2027), with cap charges of $67.4 million in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027.

We've also been hearing a lot about June 1 when it comes to A.J. Brown, and it's the same principle here. The Eagles would take a dead cap hit of $43.4 million if they  traded Brown before June 1  (or on June 1), but starting on June 2 (or technically 4:01 p.m. ET today), the Eagles would be able to spread that dead cap hit over two seasons. In that scenario, the hit would be $16.35 million in 2026 and $27.1 million in 2027.

The Eagles clearly did not want to take a $43.4 million dead cap hit, which is why we haven't seen Brown get traded yet.

With that in mind, here's a look at the teams that will gain the most salary cap space at 4 p.m. ET today thanks to their use of the post-June 1 release designation (players they cut):

- Dolphins: $21.1 million ( Bradley Chubb and Tua Tagovailoa) - Vikings : $12.5 million ( Jonathan Allen and Harrison Smith ) - Packers : $11.5 million ( Brandon McManus and Nate Hobbs ) - Broncos : $8.2 million ( Dre Greenlaw ) - Cardinals : $5.1 million ( Kyler Murray ) - Browns : $3.4 million ( David Njoku and Wyatt Teller )

(Numbers via Over the Cap )

The Dolphins had just $1.8 million in salary cap space right after the draft, but they'll now have some breathing room once that $21.1 million in cap savings hits their account after the close of business today.

2. A.J. Brown trade rumors: Will a deal happen today?

There is nothing we've talked about more this offseason than A.J. Brown trade rumors, and we might finally be able to put those to rest this week if the Eagles actually deal their star receiver.

Let's take a look at where things stand:

- Why you won't see a trade before 4 p.m. ET today. An A.J. Brown trade could go down today, but if it does, it can't happen until later this afternoon. If the Eagles want to split Brown's salary cap hit over the next two seasons, they have to make the trade after the end of the business day on June 1. In the eyes of the NFL, that means the Eagles can pull off this trade at any point after 4 p.m. ET today, so be sure to set an alarm because 4:01 p.m. ET is when Brown Watch will officially start. - Patriots still the most likely team to land Brown. At this point, it seems like a done deal that the Patriots will end up trading for Brown. The only question right now revolves around what kind of compensation the Eagles will receive from New England. The Eagles want a first-round pick, and it appears they might get one, but with a catch. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer , the deal could end up involving a 2028 first-round pick. So it would be a first-rounder, but the Eagles would have to wait two years to use it. - Why the Patriots make sense. If Brown gets shipped to New England, it would reunite him with Mike Vrabel, who served as his head coach for three seasons in Tennessee. It would also reunite him with Patriots safety Kevin Byard , so Brown would already have a familiar face in the locker room. The two players spent three seasons together with the Titans (2019-21), but then Brown was traded to the Eagles following the 2021 season. They reunited for half a season in Philadelphia in 2023 after Byard also got traded from the Titans to the Eagles. During their time together in the NFL, Byard and Brown became friends, and they've even been training together this offseason. The Patriots are also in desperate need of a true No. 1 receiver, and Brown would fill that void.

With June 1 now here, we're going to continue playing the waiting game with Brown, but we shouldn't have to wait much longer.

3. 100 days until the 2026 NFL season: Here are the 100 most important players

I'm not sure how it happened, but we're now just 100 days away from the start of the 2026 NFL season. Zach Pereles loves to celebrate things like this, so he decided to make a list of the 100 most important players for 2026.

There are two very important things he wants us to keep in mind with this list:

- It's the 100 most important players, not the 100 best players. - It's a list, not a ranking; the order doesn't matter.

Pereles actually broke his list into categories, and one of the most fascinating involves injured players. Here are the top players coming back from injury who could have a huge impact on the 2026 season:

- Packers EDGE Micah Parsons - Commanders QB Jayden Daniels - Colts QB Daniel Jones - Raiders TE Brock Bowers - Raiders EDGE Maxx Crosby - Giants WR Malik Nabers - 49ers TE George Kittle - 49ers EDGE Nick Bosa

That's eight names from one category. The full list includes 100 names, and if you want to read them all, Pereles has got them for you here .

We also put together a list of 100 things you need to know heading into the 2026 season, and you can check that out here .

4. Kyle Shanahan has another gripe about the Australia game

At the rate things are going, the NFL is probably going to regret its decision to send the 49ers to Australia. Kyle Shanahan has already complained about the game once this offseason, and he added a few more complaints last week.

Let's break down why Shanahan isn't happy:

- Traveling to Melbourne will cut things short for the 49ers at the end of the preseason. After four weeks of practice and three preseason games, each NFL team is supposed to get four days off, but the 49ers won't get all of those days because they'll already be on their way to Australia. "Everyone gets that bye week after your fourth week," Shanahan said. "The whole NFL gets three bonus practices and four mandatory days off. We're traveling on that third day to Australia, so you kind of miss that week to recover and to have those days off and those bonus days. So, it ends up being about a week different than usual." - 49ers won't get the same recovery time as the other NFL teams. Shanahan said he's not necessarily mad about all the travel involved. He's more bothered by the fact that his players won't get the four days of recovery time every other team -- besides the Rams -- will get after the preseason. "You'd rather not travel that much, and I don't care as much about that," Shanahan said. "It's more about recovery." - Getting three straight home games after Australia isn't a good thing. The NFL did appear to do San Francisco a small favor with the schedule. After the opener in Australia, the 49ers will play three straight home games, but Shanahan doesn't view that as a positive. "I mean, three home games is irrelevant. That doesn't mean anything. It means you're going to have three more road games in December and January. So, that's my answer on three home games."

Based on Shanahan's comments , it seems pretty clear the 49ers definitely will not volunteer if the NFL decides to hold another game in Australia (and according to Roger Goodell, that's the league's eventual plan).

Shanahan also revealed that the 49ers might take a slight detour to Colorado before heading to Mexico City in Week 11, and if that happens, they won't set the NFL record for most travel miles in a season. How could that potentially impact the record? I've  got the details here .

5. AFC South win totals: Titans stay in the division cellar

After unveiling his best over/under bets for the AFC North and AFC East last week, Jordan Dajani is back to cover another division. Today, he's predicting every over/under in the AFC South.

Let's check out his thoughts on the Texans and Colts:

Houston Texans

- Odds: Over 9.5 (-125) / Under 9.5 (-110)

Dajani's take:  What do we make of the Texans? I like DeMeco Ryans ' defense better than the Seahawks unit that just won the Super Bowl. But C.J. Stroud's play has held this team back. After his historic 2023 campaign, when he won Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud has failed to improve. I'm not sure who I like most in the AFC South, but I'll take the Texans to finish 10-7 with one of the seven easiest schedules. Houston has won double-digit games in each season with Stroud at quarterback. Imagine if he starts playing good football again.

Dajani's lean:  Over 9.5 (-125)

Indianapolis Colts

- Odds: Over 7.5 (-130) / Under 7.5 (+110)

Dajani's take:  This is a somewhat confusing line. The Colts hit the over on this number last year despite losing their final seven games! I won't place money on the Colts to win the Super Bowl, or even the division, for that matter. I wonder if this defense can be good enough for a team that wants to contend, but I still think the Colts can get to 8-9.

Dajani's lean:  Over 7.5 (-130)

If you want to see how Dajani feels about the Jaguars and Titans, you can get his take on those two teams here .

6. Extra points: Vikings finally hire a new general manager

It's been a busy few days in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

- Vikings poach Seahawks employee to serve as new GM. The Vikings general manager job has been open for four months, but it appears they've finally filled the role. The team is hiring Nolan Teasley, who spent the past 13 seasons in Seattle. Teasley takes over for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired on Jan. 30. CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones has more on the hiring, and you can check that out here . - Giants sign two receivers, including Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Beckham Jr. is making his return to the NFL, and he's doing it with the Giants. He was one of three receivers who worked out with the team Monday, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios , and in the end, he and Berrios received deals . - Shedeur Sanders breaks Tom Brady's record. The Browns quarterback lost a lot of money when he fell to the fifth round of the draft last year, but he ended up recouping much of it. Sanders earned $17.7 million in NFLPA merchandising revenue over the past year, which covers the period from May 2025 to February 2026. Sanders' total is the highest ever, topping a record held by Tom Brady, who earned $9.5 million late in his career

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aj-brown-trade-post-june-1-100-days-nfl-kickoff/)._