For the first time in 12 days, AJ Brown stood up in front of multiple cameras and addressed the Philadelphia media. Brown made it clear he wasn’t mad at the Philadelphia Eagles coaches or the play calls, but that he needed to get something off his chest.
“I didn’t want to be negative,” Brown said. via NJ.com. “I was already in the mindset that we were going through tough times, so me personally, the person that I am, I just have to get back to work. There’s nothing I can do about it.
“Like I said after the game, I learned that if I don’t have anything good to say, I won’t say anything at all. I’m not going to keep turning a negative into a negative. You can write for “Negative stuff, you watch the game too! You already know that, so I can’t say anything more. I’m not trying to make things worse than they are. “
Brown remained silent for more than a week, speaking for the last time the Friday before the Christmas victory against the New York Giants. He refused to speak in the locker room after the win and over the coming week, raising questions about what’s going on and whether he’s frustrated with the offense or the coaching staff.
“I’m not about to talk,” Brown said with a smile on his face after Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals. When a reporter asked Brown why, the Eagles receiver politely replied “that would be talking.” Brown was also asked if he would speak this week and simply shrugged before responding, “It’s nothing to all of you.”
Brown is 50 yards away from breaking his own record for most receiving yards in a season in Eagles history. He is fifth in the NFL in receptions (105) and third in receiving yards (1,447), having the most catches by any Eagles wide receiver in a season.
The Eagles lost four of five games and were limping toward the playoffs. Brown is fully aware that anything he says or does will be twisted the wrong way.
“Everything I do. If I say something, if I do something, I’m classified as a freak,” Brown said with a smile. “It’s honestly the opposite. You saw my frustration on the field. It wasn’t the play call, it wasn’t any of that, it was my guy getting mugged.
“I apologized to my teammates today. They shouldn’t have to speak for me. I’m a man, I can speak for myself.”