Mike Florio came out in defense of A.J. Brown amid backlash following the wide receiver’s interview with Maria Taylor. Brown, who was recently traded to New England by the Philadelphia Eagles, has come under severe fire for statements he made during the interview.
The wideout has been alleged to have implied that he leaked internal stories to the press when he was in Philadelphia to motivate his teammates. Several top analysts echoed the narrative, including former ESPN host Trey Wingo.
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Florio rejected this narrative in a Pro Football Talk piece published on Sunday. The veteran analyst emphasized that Brown did not say anything to imply that he was leaking stories about the Eagles to the media.
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“Brown never said that,” he wrote. “Allow me to repeat this, with emphasis: BROWN NEVER SAID THAT.”
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Taylor had asked A.J. Brown during their chat if the perception of him in Philadelphia is that of a villain.
“I wouldn’t say a ‘villain,’ because some of the things that was done, it was done purposely to give us a push, you know?” Brown responded. “I know if I said something in the media, I know it’s gonna propel us to work on it, because now everybody’s talking about it. You know, so it’s like, are we gonna really fix it or not? We can’t keep saying, ‘It’s the standard, it’s the standard.’ And we’re not trying to truly get better.”
Why the Eagles traded A.J. Brown
Philadelphia traded A.J. Brown out to New England in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Brown’s exit came following a dramatic 2025 season that featured the wideout and the Eagles in multiple controversies.
On one such occasion last season, Brown asked fans to get rid of him from their fantasy teams. In another instance, he was reading a book on the sidelines during a game. These and other overt acts indicated a fracture between Brown and the team, culminating in his trade to the Eagles.
Brown’s interview with Taylor is only the latest episode in the tension between him and the Eagles. Despite the ensuing backlash, Florio argued that if anything, Brown was the only player calling attention to the deficiency in the Eagles’ offense last season.
The receiver will face his former teammates in the summer for a preseason game between the Patriots and the Eagles.
Edited by Kayode Akinwumi