AJ Brown has stood by Jalen Hurts after the Philadelphia Eagles’ tough NFL season. The Eagles had a hard time in the NFL playoffs, losing 32-9 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the first hurdle. The Super Bowl LII champions boasted a 10-1 record but their season soon collapsed. They slipped to 11-6 before the Bucs ended their campaign.
Even with the team’s problems, Philadelphia’s wide receiver Brown said it’s not true that he’s unhappy. He’s also denied claims that he and Hurts don’t get along and has discussed how how well the quarterback did earlier in the season before their collapse. “I think that’s sort of BS I’m not going to get into – me and his relationship on the air – but it’s total BS,” Brown told 94.1 WIP. “It wasn’t a problem when I was on my six-game streak. They weren’t talking about that then, but they’re talking about it when we’re losing.”
Brown was in superb form earlier in the season, breaking the NFL record for most successive games of at least 125 yards in a row held by Pat Studstill (1966) and Calvin Johnson (2012). However, the team’s 1-6 finish to the year left a bittersweet taste.
When asked about Hurts’ personality amid rumours that members of the Eagles organisation want the quarterback to open up more, Brown insisted the 25-year-old shouldn’t change. He said: “Jalen is himself. I don’t agree or disagree, he’s going to be himself, and I’m not the person to try and paint him to be something that he’s not or whatever the case may be.
“But when things were going good, you didn’t hear those reports. The season pulled everybody every which way. There were ups and downs and more downs than ups. But when we were winning, you saw the same reaction from him on the sideline.
“But when we were losing, you still saw the same reaction, so how can you get upset at the same person for doing the same thing? A couple months ago, he was the greatest leader for this organization. So I don’t agree or disagree. He’s going to be himself and I want him to be nobody but himself.”
Brown, who arrived in Philadelphia via trade from the Tennessee Titans during the 2022 NFL Draft, also dismissed claims he wanted to be traded from the Eagles. He added: “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. Next question.”
