Brandon Graham walks back his reaction to A.J. Brown: ‘I should’ve just talked to my guy before I even made a comment on it’

Less than a day after he indicated a lack of communication between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown while he appeared on 94.1 WIP, Brandon Graham apologized for his comments.

The veteran Eagles defensive end returned to the radio station on Tuesday morning and said he made an “assumption” after seeing a clip from Brown’s postgame media scrum in which the receiver expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s passing game in the team’s 22-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

“I didn’t know all the details and I still don’t,” Graham said Tuesday. “And I was just like, dang, like, I really just saw everything that y’all saw with the video, and I just was reacting to that. And I should have used a little more logic on it.”

Graham, who has a season-ending torn triceps, continued later: “We all don’t know what A.J. meant by it, ’cause ain’t nobody talk to A.J. So at the end of the day, I assume, I was mad about, like, dang, I should’ve just talked to my guy before I even made a comment on it. But when we figure that part out, everything’s going to be all good.”

» READ MORE: Eagles film review: Making sense of A.J. Brown’s targets, Jalen Hurts’ decision-making, and a disjointed passing game

Graham voiced a sense of regret over speaking publicly before talking in private to his two teammates to relay his concerns, which was part of the original issue he took on Monday night with Brown. He said that he would apologize to and speak with both players later on Tuesday.

Brown’s comments in the locker room came after an inconsistent performance from an Eagles passing offense that finished with 83 net yards, its second-lowest total of the season.

Brown had four receptions for 43 yards, his second-lowest total this year. Hurts targeted him only twice in the first half, with the first target coming after the two-minute warning. Brown had expressed frustration on the field by slamming his helmet into a bench on the sideline after the Eagles went three-and-out in the second quarter.

When asked after the game what the offense needed to improve going forward, Brown responded, “Passing.”

» READ MORE: Jeff McLane: Do the Eagles have a passing problem? A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith voice their frustration despite Eagles win.

Brown was also asked what his conversations with Hurts were like when the passing game wasn’t working, and he said, “Not too much conversation, honestly. I don’t know.”

On Monday night in his initial on-air appearance, Graham was asked about Brown allegedly pointing fingers with his comments in the locker room and the difficulty of getting everybody on the same page.

“When we got stuff in-house and we’re winning, it’s just not a good look for the person complaining, when you ain’t complaining to the right person, that’s all I’m saying,” Graham said. “Like, if I got a problem, I’m going to that man. I’m not going to the media. I’m not acting a certain way.”

He was also asked Monday if the quarterback would accept Brown coming to him on the sideline and having a discussion in the heat of the moment.

» READ MORE: Mike Sielski: Jalen Hurts wasn’t great against the Panthers. The Eagles QB will need to be better in the playoffs.

“I don’t know the whole story, but I know that [Hurts] is trying,” Graham responded. “And, I mean, [Brown] could be a little better with how he respond to things. And they was friends before this. It’s like, man, but things have changed, and I understand that, because life happens. But it’s the business side, that we have to make sure that we don’t let the personal get in the way of the business. And that’s what we’ve got to do better as right now, because we know it’s an issue.

“Everybody’s seen some things, but we need to be able to talk things out as men, you know what I’m saying? But we need to let personal stuff go, and let’s get right for this game. Because, man, it’s like a lot of stuff; most of the time, it’s just a conversation that just needs to be had. But the person with the problem got to want to talk to the person [rather] than others. That’s all I’m saying.”

Nick Sirianni joined the radio station later Tuesday morning and defended Brown’s postgame comments about the passing game, claiming that he didn’t interpret them as an individual attack on Hurts.

“You can do anything and spin it any way, but I didn’t take it that way,” Sirianni said. “And I took it as we want to get better as a passing attack. A.J.’s part of the passing attack. And so we all want to be better at it. I want to be better at it. Jalen wants to be better at it. A.J. wants to be better at it.”

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Nick Sirianni doesn’t think Jalen Hurts is trigger-shy and isn’t worried about locker room frustration

He also said the public doesn’t see the full picture of the relationship between Hurts and Brown.

“All I can judge things on is what I see on a daily basis,” Sirianni said. “When I see A.J. and Jalen communicating about the game plan. Eating lunch together every single day. Praying with each other before the game.

“And so there’s going to be speculation, and I get it, rightfully so, based on what’s happened the last couple days. But I have more information.”

At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore also said that Hurts and Brown “work each and every day together” in an effort to help the team.

“We’ve got a special group,” he said. “I think they work really, really well together. A.J., Jalen, Saquon [Barkley], Smitty [DeVonta Smith], the whole group, when you spend each and every day around the building, you just see these guys connecting and working in meetings, but after meetings, after practice. We’ve got a special group. We’re excited about the opportunities we have ahead.”