Even before A.J. Brown officially donned a Patriots practice jersey back in June, everyone knew that come mid-August, the joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles would be a thing to pay attention to.

As it turns out, Brown is now a Patriot, and even if he never did get traded, there still might be a slightly tense vibe come time for these two franchises to square up on the field.

The Eagles and Patriots will meet for joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday this week, then square off in a preseason game on Saturday night. Joint practices can always get chippy, and this one has plenty of reasons to get fiery beyond the obvious one.

Let's start with the obvious one that's already been mentioned. It's been reported multiple times over the spring and early summer that Brown was most likely going to become a Patriot and leave the Eagles, a team he was rumored to be unhappy with, in the rearview.

Brown reportedly wanted an exit in Philly but worked with the team's front office to find the best suitor to continue his career.

Brown will play against his former teammates for the first time since parting ways with them almost three months ago. That comes with a lot of baggage. Brown and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts aren't known to be best friends, although the Patriots' wide receiver has acknowledged no animosity.

However, Brown is going to line up against some of the best defenders in the league this week, and although things are supposed to stay professional, you've got to believe the trash talk might get turned up to a personal level from time to time during snaps.

We talk a lot about who will be a New England Patriot in 2026, but let's not forget that every NFL team is doing the same when it comes to filling a 53-man roster. Some players on that Eagles team this week will have to turn up the intensity in practice.

Will there be fights on the field? Maybe. Will there be guys playing at a level of hyper-focused and competitive prowess needed to become a roster lock? Most likely.

This often leads to players at any position getting into it on the field. It won't just be news cameras there to see what happens; anybody can whip out a cell phone and film an Eagles and Patriots player jawing at one another.

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter fed into the narrative that these two teams might get a little extra physical on the field this week.

Just last week, Carter told ESPN’s Tim McManus, “If I was to get into any altercations, I don’t try to start them. I just finish them.”

Carter's comments are not necessarily targeting anyone in specific. As a matter of fact, when it comes to practices, quarterbacks cannot be hit, thus meaning if Carter were to have to "finish" something, it would be in the trenches against a Patriots offensive lineman.

However, this all feeds into the narrative around these teams this week. If the players want to throw some extra physicality towards one another, that's expected, but it's on both teams' head coaches, Mike Vrabel and Nick Sirianni, to manage that.

Nobody really talks about the bitter history between these two teams. In early 2005, the Patriots defeated the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX and launched a dynasty. Less than two decades later, Nick Foles and the Philly Special shattered Patriots fans' hearts in Super Bowl LII.

More recently, the Eagles walked out of Gillette Stadium with a 25-20 win back in September of 2023,when a late-game surge by Mac Jones and the Patriots led to be too little, too late.

This week marks a new chapter between these two franchises, so there is a chance to make it count. These teams barely see one another, but due to the fan bases' attitudes towards one another, along with the fact that both teams from time to time are always in the mix at the end of the year in their respective conferences, it will make for an interesting matchup.

Add in Brown going one-on-one with the Eagles' defensive backs in practice, along with Carter's comments; we hope these boys can play nice for the cameras, but don't be surprised if they don't.

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