PHILADELPHIA — Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown acknowledged his “emotions were high” during last week’s victory against the Minnesota Vikings but said his animated sideline interaction with Jalen Hurts was not indicative of an issue between himself and his quarterback.
“The little sideline discussion, I want you all to know that’s what it was — it was a discussion,” Brown said at his locker stall Thursday afternoon. “This is a game that we both love, and I want everybody to understand that sometimes emotions run high. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. That doesn’t mean I’m beefing with Jalen.”
Television cameras showed an exchange between Brown and Hurts at the start of the fourth quarter. Coach Nick Sirianni interjected and had a word with Brown as Hurts walked away.
Hurts proceeded to target Brown three times on the following series, including on a 25-yard touchdown pass that was nullified by a penalty.
Multiple teammates suggested afterward that the root of Brown’s frustration was wanting to be more involved in the offense. Brown, though, said the conversation wasn’t about targets but instead about something that happened earlier in the game.
“I know everybody took that out of context, but it’s not a big deal, me and him are still on the same page, we’re still growing, we’re still trying to become great and get wins most importantly,” Brown said.
Brown, who finished with four catches for 29 yards, exited the stadium following the Eagles’ 34-28 win without speaking to the media.
“The reason I left after the game is because my emotion was high, so I had to remove myself. Because I know [the media] wants a story and you all are doing your job … but I just had to clear my mind before [talking],” he said.
Brown is sharing targets with another top-end receiver in DeVonta Smith, who led the team against Minnesota with four catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Smith has 11 receptions on 15 targets for 178 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Brown has 11 catches on 16 targets for 108 yards. Together, they represent 79% of the Eagles receiving yards, 59% of the targets and 55% of the receptions — the highest percentage of a team’s receiving yards by a duo this season.
“Y’all talked about it and made it a big deal when it wasn’t,” said Hurts of his interaction with Brown, whom he considers one of his closest friends. “That’s always going to be my guy. We’re all great competitors and we all want to help the team win. Nothing’s going to change with that and he’s going to continue to put his best foot forward to help the team.”
Tim McManus
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