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After being characterized as a bit of a drama king by Brandon Graham during his initial comments on WIP – before the long-time defensive end walked them back later in the night – fans of the Philadelphia Eagles wondered how AJ Brown would handle the situation.
Would the player who forced his way out of Tennessee get in his feelings once more and derail the Eagles' season when they are among the best teams in the NFC? Or would he take the high road and remain a model teammate, even if he did take a shot at the passing game after Week 14 for not being up to snuff?
Well, as it turns out, Brown decided to become The Joker… at least as his Instagram profile picture.
That's right, with drama in the air, fans kept a close eye on Brown to see how he would handle the situation and disappoint he did not, with the Pro Bowl receiver opting to change his profile picture on IG to the “Clown Prince of Crime” but crucially keep his Eagles posts on his timeline, which would have been the classic example of a player who wants to quiet quit on their team in a semi-public way.
What does this mean? Is Brown just having some fun with the situation, one he technically started but didn't personally escalate? Or is Brown genuinely turning heel on the Eagles when they need him most, going from Swole Batman to The Joker amid a nine-game win streak? While only time will tell, it's safe to say this story won't go away any time soon.
Kellen Moore talks AJ Brown's comments and subsequent drama
Asked about Brown's situation during his Week 14 media session, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore weighed it on the Pro Bowl wide receiver's usage rate and if he should be getting more targets moving forward. Unsurprisingly, Moore believes that the Eagles need to keep growing and has made it a point to talk to his players about the situation in order to keep everyone on the same page.
“I think each and every week we’re always having conversations throughout this whole process. I don’t think it’s any different this week, last week, any other week. I think we all get the opportunity on Mondays to evaluate how we did, the things that we can improve on,” Moore told reporters.
“Just like any other week, we all have conversations. I have conversations with [WR] A.J. [Brown] plenty and [QB] Jalen [Hurts] and [RB] Saquon [Barkley] and the offensive line. So we’re going through a process similar. Obviously, this past game from a production standpoint, the passing game is something that we’d love to grow on, and I think we’ve got excellent opportunities to grow in that capacity.”
On one hand, Brown is right, the Eagles aren't throwing the ball enough and aren't being particularly creative when they do decide to air it out, with Hurts only attempting just one pass for 20 yards in Week 14. With that being said, if the running game is averaging 5.2 rushing yards per attempt on the ground, it's hard to go away from an automatic first down on every two runs.
Still, eventually, some team will figure out a way to slow down the Eagles' run, and when that happens, Hurts will have to win games through the air, which he hasn't had to do since what, Week 4? All things considered, it might be wise to throw the ball a few more times down the stretch as preparation for when that day comes, as it's safe to assume it is inevitable.
