A.J. Brown: I was 'dead serious' about trying to play baseball this year
Along with being one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, A.J. Brown is also a pretty accomplished baseball player and even found himself as a 19th-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres back in 2016.
Back in January Brown made a reference to his baseball skills when he tweeted that he still thinks about trying to play both sports.
As he told DelawareOnline this week, that was not just talk. He was completely serious about it.
"I was dead serious," said Brown. "(The Padres) had reached out to me. They were about to invite me to spring training. They were just waiting on an answer from me."
So what stopped him?
The Padres had no interest in him being a two-sport start and wanted him to focus completely on baseball.
"They were telling me if I’m (still) going to play football, then I can’t play baseball," Brown said. "I can’t just play around with (baseball). So it kind of killed my chances for the moment."
He added that he still might consider it when he is done playing football.
Brown's flirtation with baseball happened when he was still a member of the Tennessee Titans and looking for a new contract. It was just a few months later that he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round pick and ultimately signed a new contract extension worth $100 million over four years with his new team.
In two games he already has 15 catches for 224 yards with the Eagles.
It has been a while since we have seen two-sport stars in the two professional leagues, with Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders being the most famous. Brian Jordan also excelled in both sports but did not do so at the same time. It would have been fun to see Brown give it a try.
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