Jalen Hurts Breaks Silence on A.J. Brown Saying They Aren't Close Friends Anymore

After the Philadelphia Eagles traded A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots, Brown told Maria Taylor of NBC Sports that he and Jalen Hurts weren't close friends anymore. 

Hurts and Brown had been close for some time, dating back to when Hurts hosted Brown during a recruiting visit to Alabama. Hurts is even the godfather to Brown's daughter.

However, Brandon Graham suggested in the latter stages of the 2024 season that the relationship between Hurts and Brown had frayed. Though Hurts and Brown downplayed it, a team source told ESPN that word began circulating within the organization around that time that things "weren't good" between the QB and WR.   

For the first time since the Eagles traded Brown, Hurts spoke to the media and the QB reacted to Brown's quote to Taylor about their relationship. 

"You come into it and you have a sense of pride in how it began and definitely what we were able to accomplish," Hurts said. "Nothing can take that away. For the great things that we did, now it's time to focus on achieving great things with this new iteration of the team.

"I'm not in a place to challenge anyone's perspective on anything. That's where I am. I have always been focused on the collective, put my energy towards that, and as a leader, I've always put an onus on giving maximum effort to achieve the shared mission we have as a team."

Brown had 78 catches for 1,003 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns last season for the Eagles, who won the NFC East but lost to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the wild-card round of the 2026 playoffs. During the game, Nick Sirianni and Brown got into a heated exchange on the sideline. Brown had two drops, tying a career high, and declined to speak to the media postgame. 

Brown finished the Eagles-49ers game with three catches for 25 receiving yards on seven targets. Philadelphia fans booed him after his second drop in the fourth quarter.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Brown had been with the Eagles since 2022. He put up 339 receptions for 5,034 receiving yards and 32 receiving touchdowns in a Philadelphia uniform and helped the franchise beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Brown has 8,029 receiving yards and 56 receiving touchdowns in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans and Eagles. He was heavily linked to the Patriots because Mike Vrabel coached him in Tennessee. Brown grew up a New England fan because Tom Brady was his favorite player. 

The Brown era is now over in Philadelphia. Everyone is ready to move on, most notably Brown and Hurts. 

Hurts finished the 2025 season with 3,224 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 421 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He completed 64.8% of his passes. 

Hurts enters next season with 17,891 passing yards, 110 passing touchdowns, 3,554 rushing yards and 63 rushing touchdowns in his career. He's made the Pro Bowl three times and won Super Bowl LIX MVP. 

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