The worst-kept secret in the form of an NFL trade finally came to fruition on June 1, when the New England Patriots struck a deal to acquire wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles. Now Brown has given an interview discussing the move and more.
A.J. Brown Addresses “Villain” Narrative During Eagles Tenure
In an exclusive Interview with Maria Taylor, Brown discussed many facets of his football career, including being traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Other topics included the team’s vibe after the Super Bowl 59 win, why he felt his time was up with the Eagles, and eventually, Taylor asked him about the optics of looking like a “villain” amid the Eagles’ struggles.
“I wouldn’t say a villain because some of the things that were done, it was done purposely to give us a push,” Brown said. “I know if I say something in the media, I know it’s going to propel us to work on it because now everybody’s talking about it, you know? So, it’s like, are we going to really fix it or not?”
He admitted that he didn’t handle many of the moments the right way.
“Not every moment I can say I handled it the best way, especially the ones that were on social media,” Brown added. “That was just, that was wrong. Me taking accountability for that.”
To set the scene of this interview a bit more, Taylor is interviewing Brown at his home, and under them is a Patriots area rug that says “Man Cave” on it.
Brown revealed he got it from Amazon and has had it for “years,” mentioning his affinity for the Patriots and that they have been his favorite team since he was a kid.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
As to Brown’s comments in the media, he did mention he won’t do it anymore, but his thought process (seemingly) was that if the team kept saying they had a standard and weren’t meeting it, he felt as though making comments in the media would help push that along.
Brown said that putting some pressure on the team wasn’t a bad thing, as the guys in the locker room were men and they knew what they needed to do to improve, including himself.
All in all, according to him in this interview, his comments in the media were a strategy to push the team to improve.
That being said, he now lands with the Patriots after they traded away a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick. Also, Brown is reunited with head coach Mike Vrabel, whom he played under during his time with the Titans.
Brown finished the 2025-26 season with a PFSN WR Impact score of 80.9, which ranked 21st in the league.
