A.J. Brown continues to make it apparent that he’s far from thrilled with his inclusion — or lack thereof — in the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense. He’s certainly not used to being an afterthought within an attack, but it’s essentially what he’s become.
“I’m telling you, bro, that’s the only highlight of the damn football I’ve been living right now,” Brown said after showing his Madden avatar’s stat line of 168 yards and two touchdowns on nine grabs during a Twitch stream.
With how Eagles general manager Howie Roseman recently spoke of the decision not to ship him off, it seemed Brown’s role would expand.
“A.J. Brown is a great player,” Roseman said. “He wears a (captain’s) ‘C’ for a reason. He’s an important part of this team, of this organization. He cares about winning. … You just don’t get rid of guys like that.”
Instead, Brown was only targeted twice in the first quarter, then not again until Hurts overthrew him on a fourth-and-6 from Green Bay’s 35-yard line.
A.J. Brown receptions/targets by quarter in 2025
Quarter | Receptions | Targets |
|---|---|---|
First | 7 | 13 |
Second | 12 | 14 |
Third | 5 | 12 |
Fourth | 7 | 17 |
How has the relationship between the Eagles and A.J. Brown deteriorated?
The Eagles’ first outing was a harbinger for things to come. Brown hauled in just one reception in the 24-20 win over the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys. He wasn’t targeted through the first three quarters.
The next week, in a 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Brown was targeted four times, all completions, in a span of 1:13, late in the second frame, leading to a 58-yard Jake Elliott field goal that leveled the scoreboard at 10 points apiece heading into the second half. If Hurts honed in on him like that more, maybe Brown wouldn’t have any gripe.
Through four weeks, Brown had just one first-quarter reception and 12 first-half targets. Why not just force the ball to him on screens early just to keep him in the loop?
Hurts didn’t go Brown’s way during the fourth quarter of a 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 5. Sirianni’s side was up 14 points entering that frame.
The next week, down a few possessions in their 34-17 defeat to the New York Giants, Hurts only tried to hit Brown twice. After taking a 17-13 lead with 6:56 left before halftime, the Eagles didn’t score the rest of the way.
The Eagles got Brown involved in a big way against the Minnesota Vikings, as Hurts found him for a 37-yard touchdown strike on the team’s initial possession. However, Hurts only went his way once more in the first half before firing it to him for another score in the fourth quarter and once more to seal the game with 1:45 remaining.
If Sirianni made it a point to include Brown in clutch moments like that more, he’d feel much more appreciated. Yet, after Brown returned from a hamstring injury this past Sunday, Brown was once again a footnote.
“I’m close to being done answering these questions with this,” Sirianni told reporters who wondered why Brown isn’t featured like one would expect. “He’s working hard, and he is a big part of this game plan — and he’ll be a big part of the game plan going forward. And he’s working like crazy when he’s here, and I’m excited to have him.”
He’d better prove it before it becomes truly detrimental to Philadelphia’s attack.