PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown apologized Wednesday to his teammates and coaches for being a distraction, but there were no public regrets made to the media, who he attacked for portraying him as a diva.
Brown’s recent unwillingness to cooperate in post-game interviews has brought more attention to him, as well as to his teammates, who have been asked about their teammate’s degree of frustration during a horrific Eagles December.
“I thought I was doing the right thing as a captain, by not compounding the negative with the negative,” Brown said of the apology. “We’re going through tough times, so I don’t want to continue to be negative. It took me a couple of days to realize my teammates are answering questions on my behalf. I can speak for myself. I’m a man.”
The Eagles (11-5) lost four of five games in December to tumble to fifth in the NFC playoff seedings. According to the website playoffstatus.com, they have just a 17 percent probability of gaining the second seed with a win over the New York Giants Sunday at MetLife Stadium, combined with an upset of the Dallas Cowboys by the Washington Commanders. The Cowboys have a 78 percent probability of gaining the second seed.
There is almost a 100 percent probability that the fiery Brown, who ranks among the NFL leaders with a career-high 105 receptions for 1,447 yards and seven touchdowns, will be able to keep his emotions in check through the end of his career with the Eagles. He has found it impossible to hide his sideline demeanor from fans or the TV cameras, and his body language lately has left people to wonder what is really going on.
Near the end of last weekend’s collapse in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Brown shook his head as if disgusted when a screen pass to Kenneth Gainwell on third-and-20 netted four yards. After Jake Elliott kicked a field goal to give the Eagles a 31-28 lead, Kyler Murray marched the Cardinals 70 yards for the winning score. When the game ended on a Hail Mary pass intended for Julio Jones that was intercepted by Joey Blount, Brown took his helmet off and sat down in the end zone. He then declined comment after the game while teammates fulfilled their obligations.
“Like I said after the other game,” Brown said, referencing an uninspiring win over the Giants the week before, “I had nothing nice to say, so I’m not going to say nothing at all. I’m not going to continue to compound a negative with a negative, so you guys can write more negative stuff. You guys watch the game, too, so you guys already know. So, there’s nothing more I can say.”
In retrospect, Brown had a lot to say Wednesday and didn’t back away from any question during a 12-minute availability with the media.
“Everything that I do, if I say something, if I do anything, I’m classified as a monster,” Brown said. “Honestly. And it’s honestly, it’s the opposite. You saw my frustration on the field (Sunday). It wasn’t about the play-calling. It wasn’t none of that. It was about my guy (DeVonta Smith) getting banged up. I’m going to need Smitty moving forward. That was it. I apologized to my teammates today because they shouldn’t have to answer questions on my behalf. I’m a man, I can speak for myself. You can portray me however you want to portray me, but at the end of the day, I know who I am. I try to be careful with what I say because you guys are still going to write it up however you’re going to write it up. I was a journalism major. That’s your job. I’m not upset at none of y’all. That just comes with it.”
Brown’s apology in front of Eagles players, coaches and management was less contentious according to players. Veteran cornerback Darius Slay explained that he didn’t consider Brown’s behavior a distraction but was glad his teammate stood tall.
“I felt that he did a great job doing that because he does draw a lot of attention,” Slay said. “He’s one of the best receivers in the league and of course Philly media, you know, is big. He did the right thing, and I wouldn’t say he owed an apology, but it was good he did.”
Tight end Dallas Goedert, who spoke to Brown as they walked off the field following the loss to the Cardinals, praised his teammate for baring his soul.
“I spend a lot of time talking to him, so I understood where he was coming from,” Goedert said. “But I think maybe not everybody in the locker room did so. I think any time you have anything so passionate on your heart it’s a good thing to get it off your chest. We can all come closer to him and support him in any way he needs. It’s just getting something off your chest. Getting a weight off your back. I really respect the way he handled it and the way he did it. You know it’s never easy standing in front of the team explaining your thoughts, but he did it, and he did it really well. And I think it will be a great thing for us to move forward on.”
Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has had his share of in-game sideline chats with Brown, echoed the sentiment of his teammates.
“He’s taking leadership, taking ownership for some of the things that’s been out there,” Hurts said. “I appreciate him having the courage for doing that in front of the team.”
Source: Berkshire mont