Nick Sirianni and A.J. Brown
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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The Philadelphia Eagles are in another weird spot this offseason with wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has essentially complained his way out of town after 4 seasons and seems on the verge of being traded.
It’s a wild turn for one of the NFL’s best players on 1 of its best teams. The Eagles have played in 2 Super Bowls and won 1 with Brown over the last 4 seasons, which is a stretch in which he’s had 4 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season and been a 3-time NFL All-Pro.
It’s put the Eagles in a place where, instead of focusing on what improvements they can make in the offseason, they’re spending valuable time and energy on figuring out what they can do about Brown.
It’s an issue Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni addressed head on and ahead of the NFL scouting combine this week, where Brown will no doubt be a hot topic among the head coaches and executives gathered in Indianapolis.
“I can’t guarantee how anything’s going to play out into the next season,” Sirianni said on Tuesday. “I can’t guarantee that, I mean, I’m thinking I’m going to be the head coach season, but it’s like, you can’t guarantee anything past tomorrow. Like Howie said, right, everybody is…it’s hard to get good players in this league. AJ’s a great player. And AJ’s a good teammate, and AJ’s a good person. And so, like I said earlier … Does he want to be here? Yes … Do I want him to be here? Yes. So, you know, hopefully that works”
Sirianni’s Words & Actions Don’t Quite Match Up
It’s OK to be skeptical when we hear Sirianni say all those nice things about Brown — we’ll likely hear more of the same from Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.
Just remember, when you hear that spin, it’s being done almost solely to make sure Brown’s draft value stays high. Those 2 and owner Jeffrey Lurie, more than anyone else, want to change the narrative around Brown right now and have other teams think he’s a swell guy.
The last public interaction we saw between Sirianni and Brown seems to indicate the truth about the whole matter is something much, much different.
In an embarrassing, 23-10 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round, it was a shock to see the 1st half end with Sirianni, sprinting down the sideline, screaming at Brown, with the 2 eventually needing to be separated by famed Eagles security chief Dom “Big Dom” DiSandro.
More players and team personnel were forced to intervene as Brown continued to chirp back at Sirianni.
It was an ignominious ending to a season that seemed doomed from the start, when star defensive tackle Jalen Carter spit on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott right before the 1st play of the game and was ejected on the spot.
Brown Complains Whether Eagles Win or Lose
Brown has spent large parts of each of the last 2 seasons complaining about Philadelphia’s offense and his role in it — doing so whether his team is winning or losing.
The only time Brown doesn’t complain is when he’s getting the ball — whether his team is winning or losing.
All of that has led to rampant trade rumors surrounding Brown, to the point the Eagles might be willing to eat just over $70 million in dead cap money to get him out the door.