This Is My Home: AJ Brown Admits That He Might Be A Little Moody, But He Ain't Going Anywhere
Mitchell Leff. Getty Images.The issue with professional sports is that it's no longer just about the game. Sports media has turned them into an entertainment product, and drama sells. Drama gives all the TV and radio hosts something to talk about all day. They don't know enough about the game to just sit there and break down film all day. So the game becomes a show, and athletes become characters, and one player's frustration turns into a dramatized storyline that could carry an entire season.
AJ Brown is an athlete. He's a competitor. And he's one of the best receivers on the planet. It's no secret that he wants to have the ball in his hands as much as possible to help the Philadelphia Eagles win football games. Sure, the Eagles are winning football games without him having much of an impact at all this season. But the best players on the field always want the ball, and it would be extremely alarming if AJ Brown was just content with barely contributing to his team's success.
From an athletic standpoint, it makes total sense. He's justifiably frustrated, and he has every reason to feel like he could and should be contributing more. But sports media doesn't give a shit about reason and justification. Sports media just wants drama. So when AJ Brown posts some cryptic lyrics after a win where he only had 2 catches, the story immediately becomes "HOW MUCH LONGER UNTIL AJ BROWN DEMANDS A TRADE OUT OF PHILADELPHIA" or "RANKING THE TOP 5 PEOPLE IN THE PHILADELPHIA ORGANIZATION WHO AJ BROWN HATES THE MOST".
But if you just listen to the man explain himself, AJ Brown was simply a dude who was frustrated with his lack of contribution and feeling a little moody about it. Nothing more, nothing less.
AJ Brown isn't at war with Jalen Hurts. AJ Brown isn't trying to get Kevin Patullo fired. AJ Brown isn't demanding a trade and already looking at real estate near Foxborough.
AJ Brown was upset that he didn't have a big game. He fired off a moody tweet. And that was the end of it. He's frustrated, but that's a good thing. You should want a guy like AJ Brown to always want the ball. You should want your best players to always feel like they can do more to help the team. You should want your entire roster to hold themselves to the highest standard, and feel like they can constantly improve and do more. You can prefer if they just did all that in silence without creating any distractions like how DeVonta Smith goes about his business.
But it's always the squeaky wheel the gets the grease. AJ Brown deserves to get greased up. The Eagles are always at their best when AJ Brown is putting up over 1000 yards per season. They can keep winning without him being one of the ultimate difference makers out there, but that's not going to be when they are playing at their best. This is the Philadelphia Eagles we're talking about here, and the standard is the standard. All 53 guys should be frustrated if they're not playing to that level.
So no. AJ Brown isn't getting traded. AJ Brown isn't going to blow up the locker room because he hates the quarterback. AJ Brown isn't going to be an issue at any point this season, unless you're an opposing defense. But at least a tweet fueled all the conversation for the past 48 hours.