Brown: ‘I want to be here’ in Philadelphia
Receiver calls into radio station Friday to address recent rumors regarding his future
A.J. Brown wanted to set the record straight.
The Eagles star wide receiver called into 94.1-WIP on Friday afternoon to address discussions surrounding him on the station and elsewhere earlier in the week.
In a 15-minute interview live on air Brown refuted the notion that he’s unhappy on the Eagles or that he and quarterback Jalen Hurts have a tenuous relationship following the team’s collapse last season.
“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 said. “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 said the team’s 1-6 finish to last season, a stretch that led to significant overhaul to the coaching staff, came down to players not executing. He rebutted the suggestion from one host that the Eagles were playing “like the best team in the league” while winning 10 of their first 11 games, pointing to the team “scratching it out” against lesser opponents during that stretch.
When asked about Hurts’ personality and reporting in the Inquirer about members in the Eagles organization wanting Hurts to open up more and be more available to his teammates during difficult times, Brown said he didn’t want the quarterback to change.
“Jalen is himself,” Brown said. “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.”
Similar to the way he broke his media silence during the season, Brown foreshadowed his call into the radio station with a post to X the day before.
Brown said his account was hijacked during the Super Bowl and the impersonator sent several posts, but that he regained control of it before addressing the station’s social media account late Thursday night.
Brown said he called in to “stand up to the bully” and said he feels misunderstood by some fans and media members, claiming he is unfairly compared to Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens’ dramatic tenure with the Eagles.
“The stigma between what T.O. did here, they always want to pinpoint that,” Brown said. “They just put me in this bubble with him and whatever he did in the past. And I know him — he’s a great person, I don’t want to speak badly, but I’m my own person . ...
I don’t do any of that stuff with any of my teammates. That’s the reason I’m on this show today. I’m the person who stands up to the bully.”
Brown also disputed claims that he wants to be traded from the Eagles when asked about his feelings being on the team. The station discussed whether he should be traded earlier this year.
“Why would someone think I wasn’t even happy?” Brown said. “I want to be here. It’s as simple as that. I love where I’m at.”