A.J. Brown is one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. The Philadelphia Eagles star was a key player in the team’s Super Bowl LIX victory and has been named to the Pro Bowl three times. Despite this, head coach Nick Sirianni seems to have forgotten about him, and the receiver is fed up with it.
Throughout his career, Brown has distinguished himself as a go-route receiver. His speed allows him to exploit long routes, and his physique helps him win almost any contested ball.
Although the Eagles often use him as a decoy to stretch the field, he was also a frequent target for quarterback Jalen Hurts. However, new ofensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s arrival drastically changed that.
The new offensive coordinator is designing fewer and fewer plays where Brown is the primary target, and Hurts is increasingly looking to his other receivers, even when he has the opportunity to throw to him. Because of this, the star receiver spoke out.
Brown’s complaint to Sirianni
Brown finally spoke up last week. “If you got me on fantasy, man, get rid of me,” the receiver said after catching just two passes for 13 yards in Philadelphia’s 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers.
In the same Twitch stream, the seven-year veteran sent a message to Patullo and Sirianni, asking for more opportunities to catch the ball.
We do need to do a better job of creating for me, trying to help put me in a situation to contribute,” Brown said. “But right now, it just feels as if I’m screwing it up for everybody.”
He pointed to the offense’s consistency issues and said he wants to help. “And I didn’t get those opportunities. And so, like, I’m going to have a problem with that, especially with the player that I am,” he said.
The team blames the schedule for Brown’s problems
While Brown insisted he would continue to demand more passes, Patullo denied that they were sidelining the player. He explained that they’ve had to adjust their playbook based on the opponents they’ve faced.
“I think it’s just kind of been the situations we’ve been in, and the teams we’ve played week after week have just had different games,” the coordinator explained, noting that the Eagles have faced defenses as varied as those of the Vikings, the Giants, and the Chiefs.
For Brown, however, it’s all about continuous improvement, “and not just saying, ‘Oh, it’s about wins, like, as long as we got the win, it’s cool.’ No, that isn’t it, you cannot do that, not in this league. We gotta continue to get better.”
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