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The Philadelphia Eagles traded wide receiver AJ Brown to the New England Patriots on Monday, and the wide receiver said his relationship with star quarterback Jalen Hurts became distant.
Brown, 28, said that while there is no bad blood with his now-former quarterback, the two grew apart.
“Not as close as we once were,” Brown said during an appearance on “7 PM in Brooklyn.”
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(Left) Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown (11) leaves the field after the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, Dec. 20, 2025. (Right) Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) stands on the field after the national anthem before an NFC Wild Card Round game at San Francisco, Jan. 1, 49 in San Francisco, Lincoln, Philadelphia, Philadelphia. 2026. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images; Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
“I think it’s fine. It’s like there’s no bad blood. There’s actually still a lot of love, I love him to death. I want him to succeed and achieve all the things he wants to achieve.”
The three-time Pro Bowler said nothing happened and both parties accepted that they drifted apart. Hurts recently made news for not attending Brown’s wedding in May.
“Nothing happened. People just grow apart. Nothing happened between me and him, or our families, our wives, anything. Nothing like that ever happened,” Brown said. “But life happens and you just look up sometimes and you find yourself drifting away. And that’s fine. And I think both parties have accepted that.”
The former Ole Miss star said he was confused as to why their friendship became such a public talk.
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AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 21, 2025. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
“I didn’t really understand why our friendship became the center of everyone’s attention when it came to football because looking back, we haven’t been as close as we were for a few years now, it didn’t stop anything,” Brown said.
“We still competed, we still pushed each other, we still led the team. It’s kind of weird, people just got so fixated on our relationship.”
Hurts and Brown helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory two seasons ago. In four seasons in Philadelphia, Brown caught 339 passes for 5,034 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Despite the success, the Eagles moved on from Brown on Monday after it became more advantageous to trade him on June 1 due to salary cap implications.
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Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles watch the Dallas Cowboys in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 4, 2025. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The Eagles went from potentially carrying a $43.4 million dead-money fee for the trade to shrinking it to $16.3 million based on June 1 NFL salary cap rules. The team acquired a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Patriots for Brown.
Now in New England, Brown has nothing but love for Hurts.
“Nothing but love for him, I want him to do well and achieve everything his heart desires.”
