All is not well with two of the team’s top stars within the Philadelphia Eagles locker room.
Following Sunday’s close win over the Carolina Panthers to improve the Eagles to 11-2, questions were swirling about problems plaguing the passing offense as quarterback Jalen Hurts was holding the ball too long and missing open wide receivers while throwing for only 108 yards.
When asked about the issues, All-Pro A.J. Brown responded, “Passing.”
For his part, Hurts said the passing attack hasn’t been synchronized and needs to get better.
However, a new layer of complexity emerged regarding the relationship between Hurts and Brown following comments Eagles teammate and legend Brandon Graham made.
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Philadelphia Eagles’ Brandon Graham opens up about Hurts, Brown relationship
During an appearance on 94WIP Sportsradio on Monday night, Graham intimated that Hurts and Brown don’t have the friendship they once had.
“I know 1 is trying and 11 could be better with how he responds to things. They were friends, but things have changed.”
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 9, 2024
Brandon Graham gives insight to the AJ Brown/Jalen Hurts drama: pic.twitter.com/RcouHPGK43
“The person [A.J. Brown] that’s complaining need to be accountable. And I’m just being honest, you know what I’m saying. And like, he knows this,” Graham said, via Bleeding Green Nation.
“I don’t know the whole story, but I know that [Jalen Hurts] is trying, and I mean, [Brown] could be a little better with how he responds to things. And, they was friends before this, but things have changed. I understand that, because life happens, but it’s the business side that we have to make sure that we don’t let the personal get in the way of the business. And that’s what we gotta do better right now, because we know it’s an issue, everybody’s seeing some things. But we need to be able to talk things out as men. You know what I’m saying?
“But we need to let personal stuff go, and let’s get right for this game, because it’s like a lot of stuff most of the time it’s just a conversation that just needs to be had. But the person with the problem, gotta want to talk to the person, other than others.”
Graham’s comments spread rapidly on social media as many questioned why locker room issues were erupting with the Eagles currently on a nine-game winning streak.
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Brandon Graham sought to backtrack comments
Following the immediate uproar, Graham sought to backtrack his comments to ESPN’s Tim McManus.
“I just assumed [about their friendship] and it made me out to look even worse because I had it all wrong and now people are going to run with that part,” Graham said. “I really just want to win, man, and I want brothers to be able to just hash it out. I’m going to make sure I apologize to both of them.”
Just spoke with Brandon Graham. He clarified his comments about Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown's relationship.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 10, 2024
"I just assumed [about their friendship] and it made me out to look even worse because I had it all wrong and now people are going to run with that part."
[Cont.]
Graham added that he wasn’t looking to be divisive and he made a mistake not leaving this in the locker room.
“I wasn’t trying to be divisive. I just didn’t want us to use the media in a bad way. I can’t do that either. If I’ve got something [to say], I’ve got to go to the people, too,” Graham told McManus. “I made a mistake and I assumed that it was something that it wasn’t. I just want to win so bad that I don’t just want to use the media when we need to talk about something and we can fix the problem ourselves. I didn’t add to it in a good light so that’s my bad.”
The controversy comes as the Eagles prepare to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Hurts and Brown have yet to comment.