Eagles address A.J. Brown’s heated exchange with Jalen Hurts: ‘Everybody wants to make plays’
Brown was animated on the sideline as he was being held to four catches for 29 yards in the win against the Vikings. He wasn't available afterward to discuss it, but teammates shared their thoughts.
Three quarters into the Eagles’ 34-28 win over the Vikings on Thursday, A.J. Brown’s frustration boiled over.
The Eagles offense had finally found its footing behind a steady dose of D’Andre Swift runs and a deep touchdown catch by DeVonta Smith, but Brown had gone mostly by the wayside for much of the evening.
The star receiver had just three catches for 17 yards at the time, and finally voiced his frustration to Jalen Hurts on the sideline before the start of the fourth quarter. The Amazon broadcast caught Brown and Hurts having a demonstrative conversation with several coaches and players in earshot before Nick Sirianni interjected and addressed Brown directly.
Brown wasn’t in the Eagles locker room by the time reporters were granted access to address the exchange. Hurts suggested the conversation was about Brown wanting to have a bigger role in the offense.
“Everybody wants to make plays,” Hurts said. “Everybody wants to contribute. I have no worry about him. He’s a great player, great teammate, great friend. We’re all doing anything and everything with winning in mind.”
“We won,” Hurts added. “We don’t want to make it bigger than what it is. We’re talking about external factors here. Those things don’t matter, and what’s said out there that can potentially divide this group, that doesn’t matter.”
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Sirianni initially said he didn’t know what happened between Hurts and Brown before being told the broadcast showed him interrupting the exchange to talk to Brown. The third-year coach then changed course, saying the conversation was private and eventually acknowledging that emotions can run high on the sideline but the team would be able to move past it.
“There’s going to be ups and there’s going to be downs during the season,” Sirianni said. “And it’s about stepping in tomorrow and getting better from this tape. I do know this about this team, they genuinely like being around each other and one of their greatest motivations is to not let each other down. They want to make plays for each other, they want to do the right thing for each other and I’ve got no doubt we’ll be in a good spot tomorrow and moving forward.”
Sirianni and Hurts did give Brown more opportunities after the sideline argument. Hurts threw to him on the first play of the fourth quarter for an incompletion and then had consecutive passes to the All-Pro wideout in the end zone a few plays later. Brown caught the first 25-yard pass, but the touchdown was nullified by a holding call on Rashaad Penny. The following pass fell inches from Brown’s fingertips with Minnesota cornerback Akayleb Evans draped on him in coverage that may have warranted a pass-interference call.
Hurts eventually hit Brown for a 12-yard gain later, giving the 26-year-old four catches for 29 yards, still well below his typical benchmarks. Brown had 88 catches for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Smith, who has had quiet games as a result of Brown or Dallas Goedert occasionally commanding the lion’s share of targets, finished with five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota. After the game, he said Brown voicing his frustration is part of being a competitor.
“You always want to feel like you’re part of the team,” Smith said. “Anytime something like that’s going on, it’s not nothing bad. He’s not bashing nobody, man. He just wants to be part of the team, wants to help us. At the end of the day, you grind with these guys all throughout the week. When it’s time to go out there on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, whatever it is, man, you just want to battle with your guys.”
It’s important to note that Brown and Hurts have a close relationship that dates back to high school. The two have a comfortability with each that those who know them say allows them to bicker “like brothers” on the field.
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Eagles center Jason Kelce said the dialogue between the two could be viewed as a positive because of that reason.
“You want guys talking,” he said. “I think, actually, it’s worse when guys aren’t talking. So the fact that they were having an exchange at all is a positive in my mind. I think that we all have a very high expectation that we know that we’re really good and we know that we should be playing better than we are, so those discussions are going to happen and the frustration is going to happen.
“I have no doubt those two are really close friends. They have no problem telling each other how each other feels. That’s the way it should be.”