Eagles’ Nick Sirianni addresses potential A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts controversy

On Monday night, Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive end Brandon Graham tried to walk back comments he made that suggested Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts aren't as close as they were a couple of years ago. 

During a Tuesday appearance on Philadelphia sports radio station 94WIP, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the situation. 

"I would hold back on firestorm," Sirianni said, as shared by Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "We had a game...as a passing offense that we didn’t play to the standard that we’re capable of and all I looked at was what happened after the game is guys saying, 'Hey, we got to do better,' and that’s true."

Sirianni was referencing how Brown somewhat controversially said following Philadelphia's 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers that improved the Eagles to 11-2 on the season this past Sunday that "passing" was something the NFC East side needed to improve. Many assumed Brown was criticizing Hurts after the signal-caller recorded just 108 passing yards against a Panthers team that fell to 3-10. 

"I didn’t take it that way," Sirianni said about the perception that Brown had ripped Hurts. "...I took it as we want to get better as a passing attack and A.J. is part of the passing attack. A.J. and Jalen are both really outstanding people and both really outstanding players. And I love that our players are wanting to get better and desiring to get better."

Graham either accidentally or intentionally placed a massive spotlight on the matter when he said during a Monday appearance on 94WIP that "things have changed" between Brown and Hurts and that "we have to make sure the personal doesn't get in the way of the business." Graham subsequently talked to Tim McManus of ESPN and insisted he "made a mistake" and "assumed that it was something that it wasn't."

After Sunday's contest, Brown interestingly said that "there's not too much conversation" between he and Hurts during games to come up with fixes when the offense isn't producing. On Tuesday morning, Sirianni indicated the teammates remain close behind the scenes. 

"I see A.J. and Jalen communicating about the game plan, eating lunch together every single day, praying with each other before the game. There’s going to be speculation based off what has happened the last couple of days, but all you can do is judge what you see. I have more information," Sirianni explained. "I see them every single day and I see what’s going on inside the building. To me, we know there’s going to be noise and I obviously get it based off what has happened the last couple days, but I go off my daily relationships that I have every single day." 

Sirianni also poured cold water over the idea that Philadelphia could suffer a second-straight late-season collapse amid rumblings of locker-room unrest. After the 2023 Eagles fell from 10-1 to 11-6 before they lost a wild-card playoff game, numerous stories touched upon supposed issues that impacted the club as Hurts' relationship with Sirianni allegedly became fractured. 

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles as 4.5-point favorites for this coming Sunday's home game against the 10-3 Pittsburgh Steelers. It could be interesting to see how that line moves depending on what Eagles players have to say about the Brown-Hurts dynamic over the next few days.