A.J. Brown didn’t leave much room for interpretation when asked about his contact with Jalen Hurts.
Now with the New England Patriots, Brown is spending the week around his former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback as the two teams hold joint practices before a preseason game. That setup naturally brought the old questions back to the surface, and Brown’s answers only made the situation feel a little more awkward.
He made it clear he didn’t want to dwell on Philadelphia.
“[I]t’s not about no closure or anything. It’s love,” Brown said “I won a Super Bowl ring with them [Super Bowl 59].
It’ll always be love no matter how anyone feels. I love Philly and I will always love Philly.
But I’m here now. And this is where my feet are and that’s what I’m focused on.”
But when the conversation turned to whether he had spoken with Hurts since being traded to the Patriots, Brown’s reply was short and blunt: “No.”
Asked why not, Brown pushed back on the line of questioning.
“Philly, man, y’all are tough,” Brown said in response to why he hadn't talked to Hurts. “Man, it’s love.
Listen, honestly, guys, none of that stuff even matters. You all should want to report something positive.
You know asking the question is going to turn negative. Let’s not get into that.
Let’s keep everything positive. It’s love my way.
And move forward, that’s all.”
Brown was then asked whether the two might finally connect this week while the Patriots and Eagles are around each other.
“I’m sure, if our [Brown's and Hurts' paths [cross], sure,” Brown said.
Brown’s comments leave the obvious follow-up hanging in the air. If he hasn’t spoken to Hurts in the more than two and a half months since the trade, then Hurts hasn’t reached out to him either. Brown tried to keep the focus on affection for Philadelphia and on his new home in New England, but the lack of contact with a quarterback he spent four seasons with is hard to ignore.
For now, the two sides are in the same building. Whether that leads to an actual conversation is another question entirely.
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Hurts has already supplied plenty of evidence for that argument, with multiple Pro Bowl nods, two Super Bowl trips, a title, and Super Bowl MVP honors to go with a winning track record in the regular season. For Philadelphia, the larger takeaway is the one fans have been making for a while now: when the quarterback is the right one, the rest of the roster gets a much clearer path to staying in the championship mix. [Read more 🡒]