In a surprise to absolutely no one, former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is speaking his mind about what’s going on with his new team, the New England Patriots.
That Brown has already stirred up drama just days into training camp should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, as well.
Brown voiced his displeasure with his targets on the Patriots before the team even got a chance to get into full pads, complaining the team wasn’t letting quarterback and 2025 NFL MVP runner-up Drake Maye throw the ball enough.
Maye ended last season in a Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks by playing through an injury to his right throwing shoulder suffered early in the postseason. The smart thing to do is start him slow in training camp, then build up to longer throws in live action.
“They’re not really letting him throw the ball right now, so I don’t like that,” Brown said on July 27.
Brown complained constantly about his targets on the Eagles the last 2 seasons — 2 years in which he had consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and the Eagles won a Super Bowl following the 2024 season. He was traded to the Patriots in exchange for a 2028 1st-round pick on June 1.
Fans React to A.J. Brown Showing True Colors
Brown’s complaint about targets before an actual game occurred also came with a dose of humility after Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel ripped him during a team meeting for trying to make a 1-handed catch in practice.
“It only took A.J. Brown two days to start complaining about targets at Patriots camp,” Dose of Sports wrote on its official X account.
“A.J. Brown got in Nick Sirianni’s face and had to be separated after being coached during a playoff game,” Hotta Eagles Analysis wrote on its official X account. “Now Mike Vrabel calls him out over a one-handed drop, and suddenly AJ ‘understands it comes from a good place.’ That tells me everything. The issue wasn’t coaching. It was respect.”
Brown has been 1 of the NFL’s dominant wide receivers throughout his career, and it’s the 2nd time he’s been traded in exchange for a 1st round pick — the Eagles sent a 1st round pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Brown before the 2022 season.
“New England was one of AJ Brown’s preferred destinations, in part because of (head coach) Mike Vrabel,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on June 1. “Brown played for Vrabel from 2019-2021 with the Titans, and the two have maintained a connection beyond football, according to Vrabel.”
A.J. Brown’s Complicated Legacy With Eagles
While Brown will certainly be remembered for making plays with the Eagles, he’ll likely be more remembered for the discontent he sowed in his own locker room.
“Complicated tenure,” Bleacher Report’s James Palmer wrote on his official X account following the trade. “Very successful as well. In a short period of time, few WRs accomplished more than A.J. Brown in an Eagles jersey.”
In Philadelphia, Brown became known for what seemed like constant complaining about the offense over the last few years — specifically about the abilities (or lack thereof) of quarterback and Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts.
The last impression of Brown in an Eagles uniform will be hard to forget — he got into a screaming match with head coach Nick Sirianni on the sideline during a 23-19 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round, then punctuated his tenure with several key drops in the 2nd half.
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