Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown opened up Friday, calling in to the to discuss his future with the team, his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philly locker room.
When asked by former Eagle Ike Reese about his current feelings on staying with the Eagles, Brown was clear regarding his happiness with the team, despite recent rumors to the contrary.
"I have no problem. I want to be here, it's as simple as that," Brown told Reese. "I love where I'm at, it's as simple as that. Next question. ... Honestly, like I said the other day, I could have plans but also know it's a business. But I can tell you that I want to be here. That's all I can say."
Brown was traded to Philly from Tennessee during the 2022 NFL Draft and signed a four-year extension with the Eagles at the time. Since being acquired, Brown has produced two Pro Bowl campaigns and helped Philly make a Super Bowl appearance in his first year with the team.
The Eagles had a memorable start to their 2023 season, winning 10 out of their first 11 games by the end of November. Brown won NFC Offensive Player of the Month in October after contributing 125-plus receiving yards in six straight games. Hurts and Brown's connection appeared to be one of the strongest in the NFL.
However, things took a turn when the Eagles lost, 42-19, to the 49ers in Week 13. Brown eclipsed 100 receiving yards despite the blowout, but the QB-WR chemistry hit a rough patch while the team experienced the same down the stretch, and Brown did not record a touchdown catch from that week onward as Philly went 1-5. Brown was also inactive due to a knee injury for the Eagles' playoff loss in Tampa Bay.
With everyone on the outside looking to figure out what happened to cause Philly's collapse at the end of the season, Brown made sure to clarify that it wasn't because of issues in Hurts' and his relationship.
"You know, I think that's sort of BS. I'm not going to get into me and his relationship on the air," Brown said. "But it's total BS, you know what I'm saying. It wasn't a problem when I was on my six-game streak. They weren't talking about that then, so they only started talking about that when we started losing. Of course, you see friction from everybody, from the coaches, the players and from everybody. So, there you go."
Brown previously emphasized the players' accountability for their performance on the field, expressing to reporters in January that "coaches do not play any snaps." Brown reiterated his message Friday and stated that he's not the kind of player who would hold a coach responsible for a disappointing end to Philly's 2023 season.
"Like I said earlier in the season or after the season, players weren't executing like I said in the interview," Brown explained. "That's what it came down to. I think the media kind of ran with the coaches like it was the coaches' fault or the coaches didn't prepare us. I never blamed the coaches, and I'm not the person to blame a coach. I'm not trying to blame anyone.
"I'm the guy that's going to look in the mirror and go challenge everyone else. It was the players not executing and that's what happened. If you look back closely, like Ike said earlier we were playing like the best team in the league. We weren't. We may have had the best record in the league, but we weren't playing like the best team in the league. It was like that all year. We were scratching away getting wins."
Having done his part to squash the talk of both his unhappiness with his team and the narrative surrounding the Eagles' late-season struggles, Brown can start to look forward to the fall, with a chance to right the wrongs from the 2023 campaign.
