It actually happened.
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and New England Patriots WR A.J. Brown spoke at practice on Thursday (8/20).
It's the first time they have spoken since the Eagles traded Brown to the Patriots.
Brown and Hurts used to be best friends. Hurts is still the godfather to Brown's daughter.
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.
Philadelphia won the NFC East last season. However, Hurts and Co. lost to the San Francisco 49ers at home in the wild-card round.
The Eagles signed Hurts to a five-year, $255 million extension in April 2023. However, there is little guaranteed money left on Hurts' deal after the 2026 season.
Hurts enters this 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 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
One of the best wideouts in the NFL, 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 also grew up a New England fan because Tom Brady was his favorite player.
During the Eagles-49ers playoff 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.
Hurts has had seven different play callers over six-plus seasons as a pro. It will be fascinating to see how he plays in 2026 with Sean Mannion calling plays and Brown no longer on the team.
The Eagles open the 2026 season at home against the Washington Commanders. Mannion is a former NFL QB, so he's bonded well with Hurts.
"Jalen's been awesome," Mannion said. "I really think he can do anything we ask of him. He's accurate. He's a great athlete. He really attacks the fundamentals. That's what's been really fun to watch these last two weeks of Phase 2. He's always wanting more things to work on, wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. He's hungry for more. Those are the guys that are really fun to work with."
