Hollywood Brown talks longtime admiration for Eagles, says he hopes to play alongside A.J. Brown

For Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the stars he admired on screen were always in Philadelphia.

Brown, who turns 29 in June, grew up an Eagles fan despite hailing from Hollywood, Fla., a city situated between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. He got hooked on the Eagles watching them play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2005. Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Terrell Owens created some of his earliest, fondest football memories on television.

That sense of awe persisted at the NFL level when Brown joined the Andy Reid-coached Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound receiver called it “surreal” to count former Eagles receiver and current Chiefs running backs coach Todd Pinkston as one of his coaches, considering that Brown watched him in his youth.

His admiration for the Eagles doesn’t solely apply to players of the past. Brown is also a fan of Jalen Hurts, who arrived at Oklahoma in 2019 just after the receiver had wrapped up his college career. Now, they’re set to become teammates for the first time, as Brown officially signed a one-year deal with the Eagles on Wednesday.

“Man, I’ve been watching Jalen play for a while,” Brown said Thursday at his introductory news conference. “Even previous teammates, everyone talked highly about him. And for me, watching the film on him, seeing how he’s able to make stuff happen, how composed he is, his deep ball, and just how he’s able to lead, was all attractive to me.

“And for me, he’s a Super Bowl MVP, so I feel like he stacks up as a top quarterback in this league. And I’m fortunate enough to be here with him and the rest of the team. Excited to come in and help.”

The prospect of having Hurts as his quarterback was one factor that helped Brown make his decision to sign with the Eagles in free agency for his eighth NFL season. In addition to Hurts, Brown rattled off just about every other aspect of the team — including the offensive line, the defense, and the receivers — when discussing why he thought he was a good fit for the team.

“I could be a weapon, you know?” Brown said. “I could come in and help out and be another asset to the team that defenses got to look out for.”

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But which other assets in the receiving corps will the Eagles have come Week 1? Brown currently projects as the Eagles’ third receiver, replacing Jahan Dotson, but A.J. Brown’s future with the Eagles is still uncertain. If the Eagles end up moving him, a post-June 1 trade could make the most sense for the organization if it wants to spread his dead salary cap hit over two seasons.

Hollywood said on the Speakeasy podcast on Tuesday that he wants A.J. to remain in Philadelphia, but he added that “it is a business” and “he got to do what he got to do.” On Thursday, Hollywood reiterated his desire for A.J. to stay with the Eagles and expressed his appreciation for the team’s top two receivers.

“I watch a lot of wide receiver football,” the newcomer Brown said. “I watch a lot across the league. Watched a lot of A.J., a lot of DeVonta [Smith], and excited to work with these guys and learn stuff from them. Hopefully they can learn some stuff from me and chase this ring.”

Otherwise, Brown’s penciled-in third-receiver role could evolve into something greater. Regardless, his addition addresses the Eagles’ need for speed, given that he has established himself as a vertical threat since he entered the league in 2019 as the No. 25 overall pick of the Baltimore Ravens.

In turn, Hurts’ penchant for deep passes intrigued Brown as he was evaluating his next stop. According to Pro Football Focus, Hurts attempted deep balls (20-plus yards) on 14.3% of his passes, which was tied for the third-highest rate among quarterbacks with at least 119 attempts in 2025. He had a 38.5% completion rate on those passes (No. 18).

Even though Brown is seven years into his NFL career — and over a year removed from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of the 2024 season — he argued that he hasn’t lost a step.

“I feel like I’m even more explosive,” Brown said. “I’m excited to showcase it, showcase what I can do.”

Despite myriad injuries throughout his career, Brown asserted that everything happens for a reason. He brings that same mindset to his latest opportunity with the Eagles, one that he said he thought might have occurred earlier in his career.

Brown noted that he believed the Eagles would draft him in 2019, and he told Howie Roseman as much on the phone during free agency. The Eagles lacked receivers that year, but they ended up trading up to select tackle Andre Dillard with the No. 22 overall pick.

The newest Eagles receiver had to make a few stops, from Baltimore to the Arizona Cardinals to the Chiefs, before landing in Philadelphia. Now that Brown has arrived, he is eager to show that his star hasn’t faded.

“I’m always looking to prove myself, not only to, my teammates, my coaches, but to myself,” Brown said. “I feel like I haven’t played my best ball. Feel like all that is still in front of me.

“So here in Philly, I’m ready to introduce Hollywood to the city of Philadelphia, and I’m excited for the opportunity.”

The Eagles made a pair of depth signings on Thursday, adding tight end Stone Smartt and running back Dameon Pierce on one-year deals. The team announced Pierce’s signing and a league source confirmed the addition of Smartt to The Inquirer.

While both players figure to compete for roles a their respective position groups in training camp, Smartt and Pierce possess special teams abilities, too.

Pierce, 26, was a fourth-round pick out of Florida by the Houston Texans in 2022. He had a strong rookie season as a starter, posting 939 yards and four touchdowns on a team-high 220 carries in 13 games. However, Pierce lost his starting role to Devin Singletary the following season and never regained it. He was waived by the Texans during the 2025 season and ended it on the Chiefs practice squad.

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In addition to his role as a running back, the 5-10, 215-pound Pierce also has experience returning kicks. Through three seasons, Pierce has returned 20 kicks, averaging 32.8 yards. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown during his rookie season.

However, Pierce said that kick returning was not explicitly listed as part of his prospective job duties if he makes the team.

“I won’t say we talked about it specifically, but it’s always on the table,” Pierce said. “Whatever I can do to help this team win, whether it’s running the ball, returning the ball, or just embracing any role that Nick [Sirianni] expects of me. The conversation I had with Howie was just, ‘Come here, have fun, get acquainted to the offense, get acquainted to the city, man.’ We’re just going to see how it plays out.”

Smartt, 27, began his career with the Los Angeles Chargers as a 2022 undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion. The year before, he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver, and he would later move to tight end at the NFL level.

Between the Chargers (2022-24) and the New York Jets (2025), Smartt has served as a depth tight end and a special teamer. In 53 career games (seven starts), the 6-4, 226-pound tight end has collected 432 yards and one touchdown on 38 catches. Nearly half of his yardage came during the 2024 season, as Hayden Hurst dealt with injuries throughout the year that limited him to nine games.

In his four NFL seasons, Smartt has combined for 463 special-teams snaps.