A.J. Brown reportedly left a message on the wall of Eagles’ facility: ‘The best to ever play here.’ But was he?
Brown is now a New England Patriot, but that didn’t stop the former Eagles receiver from reportedly leaving a lasting mark in the team’s practice facility.
The long-awaited A.J. Brown trade to New England finally went through on June 1, ending a national distraction for fans and the players themselves.
“Thank God it’s over,” Jordan Mailata said last week. “It was a slow pain of just, is he in, is he out?”
But NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday that Brown, who caught passes from Drake Maye at Patriots camp less than 24 hours after the trade, stopped into the Eagles’ facility after the deal to pick up a few items, say his goodbyes, and leave a parting message on the wall.
Throughout the Jefferson Health Training Complex, the team has lifesize photos of franchise greats lining the walls. Underneath his picture alongside other Eagles Pro Bowlers, Brown reportedly wrote: “The best to ever play here. Always open.”
» READ MORE: Don’t get it twisted: A.J. Brown, like Carson Wentz, betrayed Philadelphia and his Eagles teammates | Marcus Hayes
In an organization that’s had wideouts like Terrell Owens, Harold Carmichael, DeSean Jackson, and Mike Quick — not to mention DeVonta Smith still on the roster — that’s high praise he’s giving himself.
Despite rumors of a rift between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts, the veteran wide receiver told NBC’s Maria Taylor in his first interview after the trade that he and Hurts had “no beef” — even if they are not as close as they once were.
In four seasons in Philadelphia, Brown had 5,034 receiving yards, 32 touchdowns, two Pro Bowls selections, and three All-Pro nods — plus two Super Bowl appearances and one win.
» READ MORE: A.J. Brown left the Eagles because he wanted what was best for himself. You’d do the same thing. | Mike Sielski
So how do those numbers compare to other Eagles receivers? Here are the team’s all-time receiving leaders, sorted by total yards. Fifteen players have recorded at least 4,000 yards with the Birds, and Brown ranks ninth, although he likely will be passed this season by both Smith and Dallas Goedert.
In addition to being ninth in total yards, Brown ended his Eagles career 13th in receptions and tied for 12th in receiving touchdowns. Where he really stands out is in yards per game — his 81.2 yards rank second behind Owens (93.5) among players to appear in at least 20 games. However, Owens, who i played parts of just two seasons in Philly, also averaged nearly a touchdown per game (0.95), while Brown averaged a little more than half of one (0.52).
The Eagles will next see Brown at joint practices with New England on Aug. 19 and 20 in Foxborough, Mass.
Jeffrey Lurie has owned the Philadelphia Eagles, which he purchased in 1994, longer than his son, Julian, has been alive. But in recent years, the younger Lurie, heir to the franchise and now 31, has assumed a more pervasive and influential role in the organization. While the Eagles have made no secret about Julian’s increased involvement with the team, specifics about his role have been scant. In recent months, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane spoke to nearly two dozen sources on and off the record to gain a better understanding of not just who Julian Lurie is and what he does, but — most important of all — whether he’ll be ready to assume the reins as Eagles chairman and CEO, whenever the time comes. Jeff shares the biggest takeaways from his reporting with Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski in this companion episode to Jeff’s feature article about the Eagles' succession plan. Listen here.
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