A.J. Brown is finally a New England Patriot. After speculation of his move turned to a near certainty as the offseason progressed, the calendar flipped from May to June and, as expected, Brown was traded from Philadelphia to New England.
But perhaps the more interesting headlines about Brown in the past week had to do with an interview with NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor in which the star wide receiver explained some of his media strategy while on the Eagles. Brown told Taylor that he would say things in the media to motivate his team to play better.
When Taylor prompted Brown to respond to the characterization that he was being painted as a villain in the media, here’s what Brown said:
“I wouldn’t say ‘a villain,’ because some of the things that was done, it was done purposely to give us a push, you know? I know if I said something in the media, I know it’s gonna propel us to work on it, because now everybody’s talking about it. You know, so it’s like are we gonna really — are we gonna fix it or not? We can’t keep saying, ‘It’s the standard, it’s the standard.’ And we’re not trying to truly get better,” Brown said.
That quote was taken out of context by many aggregators and outlets, including the popular NFL account Dov Kleiman, the New York Post, Barstool Sports, and even former ESPN anchor Trey Wingo.
Many of the aforementioned outlets accused Brown of “leaking” stories about the Eagles to the media. But, as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio astutely pointed out, what Brown did was much different. Brown did not leak anything to the media. He criticized his team on-the-record, in front of reporters, for everyone to hear. His name was attached to these critiques. There’s a major distinction between doing that, and spilling dirt to a reporter behind-the-scenes so something gets out in public, which Brown never said he did.
“I know if you say what you need to say in the media — which I won’t do that anymore — but it gives everything legs,” Brown said, adding, “Nothing I would say was for personal gain. It was always to help the team win, and try to be our better self.”
Yet, a quick sampling of the headlines would suggest Brown was tipping off reporters about non-public information regarding the Eagles locker room.
“A.J. Brown admits he ‘purposely’ fed Eagles stories to media for one reason,” the New York Post headline reads.
“AJ Brown Admits He Was the Source of the Leaks in Philly Last Year, but Says He Did it for the Greater Good,” Barstool Sports wrote for its headline.
“Wait… AJ just said he purposely leaked things to the media to push the Eagles… but swears he won’t do this in New England?? Sure Jan,” former ESPNer Trey Wingo posted on social media.
Wait… AJ just said he purposely leaked things to the media to push the Eagles… but swears he won’t do this in New England?? Sure Jan pic.twitter.com/YatiKsjHMh
— trey wingo (@wingoz) June 4, 2026
“Yikes: New Patriots wide receiver AJ Brown admitted to leaking stories about the Eagles to the media to ‘motivate’ the team,” popular aggregator account Dov Kleiman wrote.
Yikes: New Patriots wide receiver AJ Brown admitted to leaking stories about the Eagles to the media to “motivate” the team.
“It was done purposely to give us a push. It gives everything legs to push everyone to be better. I feel like it was okay to do.”
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/8ddaJApm69
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 4, 2026
At no point during his interview with Taylor, however, did Brown suggest he leaked anything to the media. All of his criticism was done in the public eye. His teammates knew exactly where it was coming from. There was a level of accountability. Saying Brown was “leaking” anything is a gross mischaracterization.
But that didn’t stop that narrative from taking hold last week. And now, many people will likely believe Brown spent much of last season in Philly leaking stories to the media, even if no such thing ever happened.