A Key Man Clears The Air, Says “I Want To Be Here”….
In an interview on 94.1 WIP, Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown addressed recent discussions surrounding his happiness with the team and his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Brown vehemently refuted rumors of discontent and set the record straight about his commitment to the Eagles.
During the 15-minute live interview, Brown dismissed the notion that he and Hurts have a strained relationship, emphasizing that such speculations are unfounded. “I think that’s sort of B.S. I’m not going to get into me and his relationship on the air, but it’s total B.S.,” said Brown.
Brown attributed the Eagles’ 1-6 finish last season to execution issues rather than interpersonal conflicts. He addressed criticisms about the team playing inconsistently, stating, “They weren’t talking about that then, but they’re talking about it when we’re losing.”
Regarding reports about Hurts personality and calls for him to be more accessible to teammates, Brown defended the quarterback, saying, “Jalen is himself. I don’t agree or disagree, he’s going to be himself.”
Responding to claims that he wants to be traded, Brown unequivocally declared his commitment to the Eagles. “Why would someone think I wasn’t even happy? I want to be here. It’s as simple as that. I love where I’m at, it’s simple as that,” Brown asserted, putting an end to speculation about his desire to leave the team.
In addressing his social media activity, Brown explained that his account was hijacked during the Super Bowl, leading to an impersonator posting messages. He called into the radio station to “stand up to the bully” and expressed feeling misunderstood by some fans and media members who draw comparisons between him and Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens.
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The 2023 season couldn’t have begun much better for the Philadelphia Eagles. Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles began the 2023 season 10-1, seemingly putting to rest the idea that a Super Bowl Hangover was going to claim another victim. However, Philadelphia’s season took a drastic turn, falling apart as fast as you can say “Fly Eagles, Fly.” Philly lost five of their final six games of the regular season, missed out on an NFC East division title, and wound up being bounced in the Wild Card Round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The collateral damage of this meltdown wound up costing the coordinators on both sides of the ball their jobs, but there’s no guarantee that things will be hunky dory in the City of Brotherly Love moving forward because of those personnel changes. Over the final few weeks of the 2023 regular season, rumors were running rampant in Philadelphia that the Eagles late-season swoon had something to do with locker room turmoil that wide receiver AJ Brown was possibly at the center of. Brown will return to Philadelphia in 2024 for his third season with the Eagles, and according to the All-Pro receiver himself, his presence within the Eagles locker room is vital, and possibly even misunderstood.
“I’m the person you need on this team because I am willing to hold people accountable, make people around me better. But nobody sees that,” AJ Brown said during an appearance on 94 WIP radio in Philadelphia. “All you see is the little flare ups…Nobody in that building works harder than me, I can stand on that and say that.”
To say that the Eagles go as AJ Brown goes is not necessarily accurate, but if you look at the numbers, there’s certainly some correlation. In the first eight games of the season, the Eagles were 7-1 and AJ Brown was not just the top target of quarterback Jalen Hurts, but also by any statistical measure one of the three best receivers in the league. In just eight games, look at the numbers he put up:
83 targets, 60 receptions, 939 yards, 5 touchdowns
Those first eight weeks of the season include a six-week stretch where Brown had at least 125 receiving yards in each game, setting the NFL record. Over the course of the final nine games of the season, Brown wasn’t nearly as productive and the Eagles, who went 4-5 over the back half of the season, paid dearly for it:
75 targets, 46 receptions, 517 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 lost fumbles
Brown didn’t find the end zone in the final six games of the regular season, and he suffered a knee sprain in week 18 that kept him out of Philadelphia’ Wild Card Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Along with Brown, quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni will be returning for the Eagles’ 2024 campaign. There is still the foundation of a Super Bowl contender here, but Philadelphia can’t afford to deal with any of the in-fighting that plagued their locker room last year.
