A.J. Brown joined the New England Patriots on June 1, but his exit from the Philadelphia Eagles started long before that. Even when they were crushing rivals and winning the Super Bowl, the star wide receiver wasn't happy with his role on Nick Sirianni's team.
Brown's situation with the Eagles became untenable. He wanted out of the City of Brotherly Love, and he ruffled some feathers on his way out. It wasn't that long ago, so it's hard to believe it's all water under the bridge now.
That's why, as much as he wants to downplay his team's upcoming joint practices with the Eagles, all eyes will be set on Foxborough. Regardless of what he told the NFL Network, things can get a bit heated.
A.J. Brown shuts down revenge talks ahead of joint practices vs. Eagles
"It's not a game, it's practice," Brown said when asked about facing his former team on Aug. 19 and 20. "It’s no revenge. Like we won a Super Bowl. It’s no revenge on my part, you know? It’s nothing but love," he added.
We were born, but that doesn't mean we were born yesterday. A competitor of Brown's caliber, who nearly went to blows with Christian Gonzalez after some heated drills early in training camp, will definitely chirp when he faces his former team, even if it's in a game of cards.
Joint practices always set the table for potential scuffles. Egos are high, and players usually look to make a statement when going against other contending teams. They won't take it as lightly as they might do against their own teammates.
Things ended pretty badly between Brown and the Eagles. They only let him go because it became painfully evident that he was willing to go the extra mile and become a year-round distraction if they didn't cut him loose.
Of course, we can only hope that he truly means this and that there will not be any incidents to report when the Eagles are in town; there's no place for that in sports. Unfortunately, we've been here long enough to know that that will most likely not be the case.
At the end of the day, Brown and the Eagles have moved on. He's trying to add to his legacy in this reunion with Mike Vrabel, and they've added multiple pieces to try to fill the void he left when he packed his bags.
Still, he definitely has something special in store for his former teammates and coaches, and he won't waste any opportunity to let them know the type of playmaker they wasted by not feeding him as often as he wanted.
Add us as a preferred source on Google