On Wednesday, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown squashed the notion that he and quarterback Jalen Hurts are bickering.
Concerns about Brown’s relationship with Hurts arose after Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham suggested they’re having problems on a Monday episode of his radio show with WIP-FM in Philadelphia.
“BG was just being BG. He’s emotional. And in that case, he just misspoke. Me and Jalen are good,” Brown told the media. “It’s BG. Everybody loves BG, he’s speaking from the heart, just giving his perception from the outside.”
Per WIP-FM’s Eliot Shorr-Parks, Brown said Philadelphia’s passing attack must improve after it generated just 83 passing yards in a 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 14. Graham suggested Brown’s comment was directed at Hurts, saying, “They were friends before this, but things have changed.”
Graham later apologized for his comments, telling ESPN’s Tim McManus, “[He] made a mistake,” and he shouldn’t have made assumptions about Hurts and Brown.
Still, that didn’t prevent the situation from possibly being blown out of proportion.
“I think that’s what the world did,” Brown said. “They perceived what I said about passing and felt like it was an attack on Jalen, and that’s what [Graham] did. Me and Jalen’s relationship is personal.”
While Brown and Hurts seem fine, the Eagles better hope storylines about the QB-WR tandem subside.
Last season, the Eagles started 10-1 but lost five of their final six regular-season games, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eliminated them in the NFC wild-card round. Philadelphia needs no drama to avoid another late-season collapse, especially since it could make its second Super Bowl in three years.
As of Wednesday, FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Eagles (11-2) the third-best Super Bowl LIX odds (+550) behind the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions.
If Hurts and Brown start clicking, Philadelphia could become an even more dangerous team.
Through his first 13 starts, Hurts has 16 touchdown passes. Brown, meanwhile, only has four touchdown catches in his first 10 games.
