A.J. Brown's honeymoon with the Patriots continues, even if it's tinged by the breakup that landed him in New England.
His first joint practice against his former team was a fascinating dichotomy: on the field with the Patriots, Brown was flawless. Off the field with the visiting Philadelphia media, he was reticent – but offered that he had not spoken to former teammate, quarterback, and close friend, Jalen Hurts, since he was traded from the Patriots to the Eagles.
While Brown is currently all smiles and the chemistry he’s building with Drake Maye is exciting, it’s impossible not to feel like he was stuck with his feet in two different worlds following Wednesday’s reunion with the Eagles. New England media wanted to discuss his drop-free, vertically threatening performance in competitive drills, sure. But come on, even we knew the juicy questions pertained to Brown’s departure from Philadelphia after four years, a Super Bowl, and well-documented unhappiness.
“Philly, man, y’all are tough,” Brown said, when asked how he left things with Hurts. “Honestly, guys, none of that stuff even matters. I mean, you all should want to report something positive. So, let's not get into that, and let's keep everything positive. It’s love, my way, and just moving forward.”
It’s easy to understand why Brown wants to close the book on his Philadelphia chapter. He spent the entire last season seemingly frustrated in Philadelphia, so he comes to New England and has what he termed “a good day,” and the bulk of what he gets asked about is his breakup with Hurts and the Birds.
The reality is this: so fresh off the trade, this is the lens Brown will be seen through for at least a while. It doesn’t detract from his performance on the field, but everything he does and says will carry the context of a bad ending elsewhere.
His successful day began with a 1-on-1 win over Quinyon Mitchell. Brown had a deep catch from Maye and he playfully accused the cornerback of a foul.
“Q got away with a little holding, but I won, and he pulled himself back into play,” he said.
“It's love between me and Q, man,” he continued. “That's little bro, man, and I'm not trying to like big bro either, man. I got so much respect for him. He’s an All-Pro, and he's gonna continue to get better.”
Maye’s passing game in 11-on-11 competitive team drills looked excellent. He launched the ball to Brown, which the wideout hauled in for the catch of the day on the sideline just a foot from the cleats of his former teammates. Maye was facing intense pressure from the defense in the play; if it was in a live game, it would have been a brutal hit on the quarterback, but there’s no denying how his timing with Brown improves week-to-week.
“He gave me a good ball,” Brown said. “It was a it was a quicker throw, and I just know I had to win at the line of the line of scrimmage, and I was going against Riq (Woolen). And I know he's very fast, and I know he was coming, so I just had to hold my line of line of scrimmage and just keep going vertical and fade at the last second.”
Both Brown and Romeo Doubs, the Patriots’ big free agency signing, have cemented themselves as Maye’s top targets. The Patriots’ offense far outplayed the Eagles’, and even though Philadelphia was without some top pass catchers in competitive drills, the Patriots’ defense was also without All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
After practice, Brown did say if his path should cross with Hurts, “Sure,” he’d catch up with him. It just doesn’t appear that he feels any urgency to go out of his way to make that happen.
Right now, he’s focused on his new team. He stood near the center of the practice field some 45 minutes after the two-hour joint session wrapped, chatting with friends, while dozens of fans remained clumped at the sideline. They began chanting his name, and he couldn’t help but smile and saunter over to sign autographs for those who had waited around.
Mixed in with the navy and red jerseys were plenty of green – because here’s the other side of the coin: even if he broke your heart a little bit, it’s hard to let go of someone as good as Brown.
