Eagles' A.J. Brown: Jalen Hurts Sideline Exchange Doesn't Mean We're Beefing

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wideout A.J. Brown were seen having a heated conversation during Week 2's 34-28 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

But Brown told reporters on Thursday that there were no issues between the pair.

"The little sideline discussion, I want you all to know that's what it was—it was a discussion," he said. "This is a game that we both love, and I want everybody to understand that sometimes emotions run high. That doesn't mean it's the end of the world. That doesn't mean I'm beefing with Jalen."

The exchange came at the start of the fourth quarter, with Brown presumably frustrated he hadn't been a big part of the offense to that point. On the next drive, he was targeted three times, half of what he received in the game.

"I know everybody took that out of context," Brown told reporters, "but it's not a big deal, me and him are still on the same page, we're still growing, we're still trying to become great and get wins most importantly."

Hurts also brushed off the situation.

"I think everybody wants to make plays and everybody wants to contribute," he told reporters earlier in the week. "I have no worry about him. He's a great player, a great teammate, a great friend, and we'll do anything and everything to win."

Brown's frustrations aren't necessarily a shock, however. He's registered just 11 catches for 108 yards and no touchdowns on 16 targets this season, a slow start by his standards after an epic first campaign with the Eagles in 2022 (88 catches on 145 targets for 1,496 yards and 11 scores).

For context, fellow wideout DeVonta Smith also has 11 receptions on the year and 15 targets, though he has more yardage (186 yards) and a pair of touchdowns. But the Eagles' passing attack has gotten off to a slow start in general, ranking 29th in the NFL (162.5 YPG).

Likewise, it isn't a major surprise that Brown is downplaying the sideline dust-up. Those are hardly uncommon between quarterbacks and wide receivers—football is an emotional game—and Brown and Hurts are famously very close friends who aren't afraid to be honest with one another.

As ESPN's Tim McManus reported in Dec. 2022: "Some teammates jokingly liken Hurts and Brown to 'an old married couple,' according to quarterback Gardner Minshew, because while it's obvious they're close, they bicker. Most liken them to brothers. Brown challenges and talks to Hurts in ways no other player can or will, multiple teammates said. Hurts is equally demanding."

As for Hurts, he's placing more emphasis on the team's 2-0 start to the season than any temporary sideline spat with Brown and the public reaction it caused.

"We won. We won," he told reporters. "I don't want to make it bigger than what it is. We're talking about external factors here, those things don't matter. What's said out there, that can potentially divide this group, doesn't matter. We won."