Joint practices often stir up controversy and news headlines. Whether it is coaches facing friends, family or former foes, or players returning to former teams, there is always something going on.
One of the more interesting joint practices going on this week saw New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown facing his former employers, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the first of two between the teams.
Brown reportedly “dazzled” against the Eagles, doing well in one-on-one drills against All-Pro corner Quinyon Mitchell. However, the biggest moment of the day was always going to be after the practice when Brown was due to speak to the media.
And Brown did not disappoint. The former All-Pro wideout spoke at length about his former employers and his love for the organization, having won a Super Bowl with them â even though him and the offense had their ups and downs.
Towards the end of his availability, the 29-year old delivered a message for the Eagles fans.
Brown sent his message in the context of a preceding question concerning fans’ disappointment in the way the 2025 season ended â being knocked out in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, despite coming into the game as 5.5-point favorites.
“What is my message to Eagles fans? I love you and I’m not looking in the past. That game [against the 49ers], no I didn’t play my best, but I’m not going backwards. It doesn’t exist. And that’s the last question I’m gonna answer about the past.” Brown said.
Brown Sends Love to Eagles Fans in ‘Last Message’ About Past
The A.J. Brown trade started to become more and more inevitable as time went on during the offseason, to the point at which it became the league’s worst-kept secret that when the calendar hit June 1, the former Tennessee Titan would become a New England Patriot â and he very much did.
Part of the reason for the impending nature of the trade came as a result of the Eagles securing the services of top college prospect Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, leapfrogging state-rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers in dramatic fashion.
Another reason stems from what was reported by Mike Florio as a time crunch for a trade; were he to be moved the following season it could serious repercussions on the health of Philadelphia’s salary cap situation
But the main reason no doubt comes as a result of the well-documented disputes between Brown, Hurts and former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, where there was a fundamental differing of opinions about the philosophical nature of how the offense should operate.
The former Ole Miss product campaigned for a greater emphasis on the passing game and bemoaned the lack of targets he saw in 2024 and 2025.
Brown mentioned that he had not spoken to his former quarterback, Jalen Hurts since his trade to New England over two-and-a-half months ago, after practice on Wednesday, even though he only has love for the QB and the franchise as a whole.
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