A.J. Brown addresses Jalen Hurts rumors after being traded from Eagles to Patriots

Questions about the working relationship between wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts hovered over the Philadelphia Eagles for years before the Eagles officially traded Brown to the New England Patriots on Monday. 

During a conversation with Maria Taylor of NBC Sports, Brown acknowledged that he and Hurts are "not as close as we once were." Back in the spring of 2022, Brown referred to Hurts as his "best friend."

A.J. Brown has "no bad blood" with Jalen Hurts

"There’s no bad blood," Brown said about Hurts while speaking with Taylor, per Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "There’s actually still a lot of love. I love him. I love him to death. I want him to succeed and accomplish all the things that he wants to accomplish. I didn’t truly understand why our friendship became center of everybody’s attention when it came to football because, looking back on it, we haven’t been as close as we were a couple years now. But that didn’t stop anything. We still competed, we still pushed each other, we still led the team. ...I’m going to say it to you, I’m going to say it on camera: I got nothing but love for him. I want him to do well and accomplish everything that his heart desires."

In the fall of 2024, reports suggested that the Brown-Hurts relationship had worsened before defensive end Brandon Graham said in December of that year that the two "were friends before this, but things have changed." More recently, an April 2026 story noted that it eventually became "rare" to see Brown and Hurts "engaged in long conversations in the locker room postgame during media availability." 

During his chat with Taylor, Brown insisted that nothing specifically "happened" involving Hurts. 

"People just grow apart," Brown said. "Nothing happened between me and him or our families or wives or anything. Nothing like that ever happened. But life happens. You just look up sometimes, and you just find yourself drifting away. And that’s fine. I think both parties accepted that." 

Why A.J. Brown publicly vented frustrations during Eagles tenure

Over what became his final two seasons with the Eagles, Brown repeatedly made it known that he was frustrated with his role in the Philadelphia offense. It turns out he was doing more than just letting off some steam.

"I knew if I say something in the media," Brown told Taylor, "I know it’s going to propel us to work on it because now everybody is talking about it. It’s like, 'Are we going to fix it or not?' We can’t keep saying it. We can’t keep saying it’s a standard, it’s a standard, and we’re not trying to truly get better. Not saying that we weren’t, but I know if you say what you need to say in the media, which won’t do that anymore, but it gives everything legs and legs to push and to push everybody to better. Because pressure isn’t always a bad thing. It can also be a good thing, too."

Brown seemingly is thrilled to reunite with New England's Mike Vrabel, the receiver's head coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 through the 2021 season. Only time will tell if Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be able to keep Brown happy through at least the end of the upcoming campaign.