Eagles' AJ Brown Calls WIP Afternoon Show To Clear Up 'BS'

Eagles star receiver AJ Brown called into the WIP Afternoon Show on Friday afternoon to respond to some recent conversations and rumors about him and his team.

If there were any questions about it, Brown emphatically stated that he was happy to be an Eagle.

“I don’t have a problem,” Brown said. “I want to be here. It's that simple. I love where I am. It's that simple. Next question.”

Brown, 26, called into the show Friday afternoon to confront the radio station for perpetuating rumors – he called it “BS” – about himself and his team. That led to a bit of back-and-forth between Brown and former Eagle and longtime radio host Ike Reese, who explained that to his knowledge the radio station doesn't create rumors but will discuss reports and hypotheses.

Brown also declined to go into details about his relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts, but said any rumors of a breakup are “complete nonsense.”

One of the main themes of the 20-plus minute interview was Brown's feeling of being misunderstood. That was a theme during his two Pro Bowl seasons in Philadelphia. Brown also brought this up when he broke his media silence in early January.

“I just really feel like I'm misunderstood as a player, as a person,” Brown said Friday. “It becomes frustrating because everything I say, everything I do is magnified tenfold. I'm classified as a diva, I want the ball and this and that.” Blah, blah, blah. Honestly, it's the other way around. You see me getting upset on the sidelines and you automatically think it's about goals. No no. What happens if I hold my players accountable? What if I was the guy who pushed everyone in the locker room and made everyone uncomfortable about improving for the team? What if I'm that guy?

“You don’t see as much of Jalen because that’s not his personality. But I'm the person you need on the team because I'm willing to hold people accountable and make the people around me better, but no one sees that. All you see are the little spurts and stuff like that. And I can honestly say, and you see the outbreaks, because no one in this building works harder, no one in this building prepares harder than me. I can stand on that and stay there. That's why you see the passion. That's why you see me reacting the way I act. Because no one spends this time like I do; I know it exactly. So I'm misunderstood. I don’t even try to be understood by people because you won’t understand me because you’re not in my shoes.”

In his two seasons since moving to Philadelphia, Brown has been fantastic. He made two Pro Bowls and caught 194 passes for 2,952 yards and 18 touchdowns. But Brown is an emotional player and his outbursts on the sidelines have raised eyebrows.

Brown expressed his despair at being labeled a diva. When he shows emotion on the sideline, he often feels like the first thing people wonder is whether he's demanding the football. Brown has repeatedly said this is not the case.

When Reese suggested that fans wanted to understand Brown better, Brown said he wasn't sure. The comparisons to former Eagles receiver Terrell Owens really seem to bother him.

“I do not believe that. The stigma between what TO did here,” Brown said. “They’re always trying to figure it out. They really don't. They just put me in this bubble with him and everything he's done in the past. And I know him, he's a great person, I'm not trying to talk badly about him. But I am my own person. I don't move like that. I don't do any of that. You can ask any of my teammates. That's why I'm on the show today. I am the person who stands up to the bully. I'm the person and people don't really understand that.

“If a play is needed, I'm the one who says, 'Throw me the ball and get us going again.' Get me the ball.' I am that person. But nobody sees that. I give energy to my team. I give my team the comfort of telling them to keep pushing. “Okay, we just had a bad game. So what? Move on. Let's go.' I'm the solid person in the group, but no one sees that. All you see is me getting upset or whatever the case may be. I am human. I may not do it the best way every time, but this is who I am, this is who I will be forever until I'm 6 feet under. It's me. I will never change who I am. If you don't like it, you just don't like it. Maybe you want to get in touch with the rest of the people.

“I’m not just talking about you. I'm talking about the media and whoever. I am my own person and am not afraid to speak up. I think that scares a lot of people. Like today, I have the guts to be on your show today. I know my worth and what I bring to the table.”

After the Eagles' disastrous end to the 2023 season, there were a lot of questions about what led to the collapse. The Eagles had a 10-1 record to start the season, but lost five of their last six regular season games and were quickly eliminated from the playoffs. It was a disappointing end to a season with such high expectations.

Brown said Friday that the Eagles had given the answer to the collapse, but it had not been accepted.

“I honestly feel like we gave you the answer and people just didn't want to accept the answer, and that's fine,” said Brown, who reiterated that a lack of implementation led to the downfall. “But you can speculate, you can do anything. It just doesn't make sense and it's just not the right way. The only reason I really come on is because I'm really committed to my teammates because half the rumors say it's really crazy. Because of that, I'm here.”

When asked again why things went wrong, Brown responded with the following:

“Yeah, the locker room is fine,” Brown said. “As I said at the start of the season or after the season, the players just didn’t perform. As I said in the interview. That was what mattered. I think the media kind of said, “It's the culture's fault.” It's the culture's fault. The culture didn't prepare us' and this and that. I never blamed the coaches. I'm not the one blaming the coaches. I'm not trying to blame anyone. I'm the type of person who looks in the mirror and challenges everyone else. It was the players who didn’t execute and that’s exactly what happened.”

The other big news from the interview? Brown's grip on X is now back in his possession after he said he briefly lost it.

Maybe he should do his best to avoid social media; but if you see posts on this account, it's him.