Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
When superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown forced his way into a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles, the first question on everybody’s mind was, “Why?”
After all, Brown caught 339 passes for 5,034 yards and 32 touchdowns in four seasons with the Eagles, all while winning a Super Bowl and making three All-Pro teams.
Shortly after Brown was traded to the New England Patriots, rumors began to swirl about him having a rocky relationship with Philadelphia’s star quarterback, Jalen Hurts.
However, neither Brown nor Hurts spoke publicly about any beef, and everyone within the Eagles’ organization claimed that the two were on the same page.
Now, Hurts has finally addressed the situation.
Jalen Hurts Refuses To Shoot Down Talk Of Fractured Relationship With A.J. Brown
On Wednesday, Hurts spoke with members of the media for the first time since losing his go-to wide receiver. When asked about his relationship with Brown, who recently stated that the two simply grew apart, Hurts refused to deny that characterization.
“I’m not in the place to challenge anyone’s perspective on anything,” Hurts said. “Seemingly so, it was. That’s where I am. I’ve always been focused on the collective. I’ve always put my energy towards that. As a leader, I’ve always put an onus on giving maximum effort to achieve the shared mission we have in the team.”
Now the Super Bowl-winning quarterback looks back on his time playing alongside Brown with fondness.
“You come into it and you have a sense of pride in how it began, and definitely what we were able to accomplish,” Hurts said. “The same thing I said last time, nothing can take that away. For the great things that we did, now it’s time to focus on achieving great things with this new iteration of the team.”
While neither quote is exactly scathing, the fact that he didn’t exactly change the narrative is fairly damning. It’s clear that something happened in their four years together that got between a relationship that was extremely close at one point.
Now, the Eagles will have to move forward without one of the best wideouts in the NFL, and their hope is that 2026 first-round pick Makai Lemon can help replace some of the immense value Brown provided.