Jason Kelce and A.J. Brown
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Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and wide receiver A.J. Brown.
In 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles were the defending NFC champions and off to a 10-1 start before completely falling apart down the stretch. They lost 5oof their last 6 games before losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Behind the scenes, the rumblings were the Eagles’ locker room had become a toxic place, and the source of the problem was NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Because veteran center Jason Kelce so quickly came to Brown’s defense — and did so repeatedly — Brown was able to avoid much scrutiny at the time.
That’s why it should raise some eyebrows that Kelce, who retired after that 2023 season, delivered a pretty damning critique of Brown during an appearance on Philadelphia Sports Radio 94 WIP on Thursday.
In particular, Kelce called Brown out not for his controversial comments — multiple public criticisms of the offense and quarterback Jalen Hurts — but for not giving it 100 percent when he took the field.
“Few things are as frustrating than when you can optically see that (lack of effort) from one of your teammates,” said Kelce, who has worked for ESPN’s Monday Night Football pre-game show the last 2 years. “Whatever was affecting A.J. (in 2025) was affecting the Eagles as well … he’s just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse.”