A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts finally had a face-to-face after a year-long beef, and what they did will shock you | NFL News
Twenty-four hours is all it took. On Wednesday, A.J. Brown stood in front of reporters in Foxborough and admitted something that stung, he hadn’t spoken to his old quarterback, Jalen Hurts, since the trade to New England went down in June. Hurts, standing a few feet away at his own podium, gave the same polished non-answer. “Got a lot of love for him,” he said, sounding like a man reading off a script. Then Thursday happened. Practice ended, and Brown walked straight over to Hurts. They hugged. They talked. And gave us a very bromantic moment.
A.J. Brown’s next move after his awkward Jalen Hurts comments caught everyone’s attention
According to source, Brown approached Hurts right after Thursday’s joint practice wrapped, and the two hugged and chatted for a moment before dapping up and going their separate ways. It wasn’t a long conversation. It didn’t need to be. For two guys who used to show up to Eagles camp together at 6:30 a.m., who won a Super Bowl side by side, who are literally family, Brown even made Hurts godfather to his daughter so a brief hug reads as a big deal after months of very public distance.To be honest, this was never really a “beef,” it was heartbreak dressed up as professionalism. Brown spent his last season in Philly openly frustrated with how the passing game was being run, and that frustration eventually got him traded. But you don’t stop loving someone just because you stopped liking your job. Wednesday’s stiff, rehearsed answers from both guys felt like two people protecting themselves in front of cameras. Thursday’s hug felt like the truth leaking out anyway. Maybe they both will perform better not alongside each other but from a distance.
Why things got tense between them in the first place
Brown and Hurts go back to high school. Philadelphia paid Brown big money with a four-year, $100 million deal, specifically to build an offense around that connection with Hurts, and for a while it worked spectacularly, peaking with a Super Bowl LIX win together. But the Eagles’ passing game struggled through last season despite the ring, and Brown didn’t stay quiet about it. On social media, in interviews, on streams, that criticism piled up, and by June he was a Patriot.So when the two teams landed in the same building for joint practices this week, everyone wanted the made-for-TV moment: were they going to talk or not? Wednesday said no. Thursday said, actually, yes. Brown even told reporters beforehand that he might catch up with Hurts over the two days, turns out he meant it.It’s a small moment, but it’s the kind that tells you more than a press conference ever could.
