There were (predictably) no fireworks from the Eagles-Patriots joint practice on Wednesday, and A.J. Brown for the most part stayed clear of his former team.
The WR took the practice field with a short Big Dom interaction, and then ignored nearly everyone else wearing Eagles gear as he jogged over to stretch with the Patriots. Some may argue he was just focused on business, but another Philly alumni, Milton Williams, took a couple minutes to chop it up with head coach Nick Sirianni and a few guys
from the defensive line before practice got underway.
It seemed like Brown mostly — but not entirely — abstained from pleasantries during the day, and both he and his former close friends had succinct revelations about their lack of relationship.
When Brown was asked if he spoke to QB Jalen Hurts since being traded, the WR simply said, “No.”
He did get a follow-up question about the situation, but acknowledged that any answer to that is going to turn negative, and the WR didn’t want to feed into that. As for whether he plans to talk to Hurts when the Eagles are in New England, Brown said “sure” if they happen to cross paths — good money says they probably won’t.
When DeVonta Smith was asked if he and Brown spoke during Wednesday’s practice, the Eagles WR simply said, “Nah.”
There have been a lot of words from all sides about A.J. Brown’s last season in Philadelphia and his eventual trade to the Patriots, and it seems like the players, at least, are done with elaborate explanations.
At this point, there’s not much else to say. There was clearly love lost over the past two seasons between teammates, and now Brown has an opportunity to start over and be the star of his story, while Hurts and Smith get a chance to prove they have everything they need to win in Philly.
