After long-time Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham revealed there was apparently tension between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown earlier this week, there seems to have been a lot of simmering drama between the two Eagles stars. It’s not a great look for a great Philadephia team currently in possession of the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed.
While Graham would try to retract his controversial comments after the fact — claiming he made an erroneous assumption about Hurts’ and Brown’s relationship — it appears where there’s smoke, there is fire.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Hurts and Brown “maybe aren’t the best of friends” in charitable terms. That’s probably OK, provided the two can continue playing well together on the field without being close pals. I’m not sure I buy that, especially since some of their drama might be related to the action between the lines. Also, most of the great sports teams that I’ve heard about for my entire sports-watching life have stars who clearly like each other.
Still, the sentiment is plausible.
Think about it. Do you really like all your coworkers at your job? Or do you just coexist with them? And do y’all produce well anyway?
You can be honest! This is a safe space!
On this front, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni reportedly tried to mend fences between Hurts and Brown. How? He had the Eagles actively practice and ponder team celebrations this week in an attempt to foster unity and an atmosphere of togetherness while getting them to recognize what they can accomplish when everyone is on the same page.
That’s all well and good, but … oof. Whatever the schism is between Hurts and Brown, these are not things you want to hear about the quarterback and No. 1 receiver on a hopeful Super Bowl contender in mid-December.
From @NFLGameDay: #Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has taken time this week show the team examples of togetherness, including group celebrations. As in, this is what we can do together. pic.twitter.com/hMwZvKt9Fr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2024
The Eagles are trying to win the second Super Bowl in franchise history this winter. At the time of this writing, they still have an outside shot at catching the Detroit Lions for the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed, too. Both realities are certainly quite possible, provided Hurts and Brown can let bygones be bygones. Their dynamic is simply too critical to the Eagles’ hopeful success.
That’s the other, much more pressing question here, dearest readers.
Have you ever heard of a starting quarterback and the best receiver on a championship-winning actively disliking each other?
Yeah, that’s not a thing, folks.
Hurts and Browns had better get it together, or this promising Eagles season might go down the drain.
