AJ Brown wasted no time letting the Philadelphia Eagles know exactly how he felt about the way his time in Philly ended. He left them a parting shot that will hang on the wall of their facility for the foreseeable future.
Brown stopped by the NovaCare Complex last week to clean out his locker and grab a few belongings after being traded to the New England Patriots. The Eagles display signed photos of their Pro Bowl players around the facility, so Brown took the opportunity to add a new caption to his.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the message read: “The best to ever play here. Always open.” Subtle was never AJ Brown’s style.
The wide receiver position has a long history in Philadelphia. Harold Carmichael, Mike Quick, Terrell Owens, Brian Westbrook caught balls there, and DeSean Jackson made his name in midnight green. Calling himself the best ever to play the position for the Eagles is a swing. It will absolutely fuel debate from the moment that photo gets posted online.
What it really tells you is how sour things got between Brown and the organization in his final year. He spent the last 18 months airing frustrations about the offense, feuding behind the scenes with Jalen Hurts, and looking like a man who could not wait to get out. When the trade finally happened, multiple reports said the prevailing emotion in Brown’s camp was relief.
Now he gets a fresh start with Mike Vrabel and the Patriots, who paid a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth to get him. Brown also gets to reunite with Vrabel, who coached him in Tennessee. The Eagles get a pile of draft capital and a wall decoration that will follow them around for years. Both sides walk away saying they won this trade. Both sides cannot be right.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
