A.J. Brown opens up about Jalen Hurts relationship for first time since Eagles trade: 'People just grow apart'

Shortly after the Philadelphia Eagles acquired A.J. Brown from the Titans on draft night in 2022, videos of the star wide receiver laughing and chatting with his new quarterback went viral.

Brown and Jalen Hurts, close friends, were visibly excited about the opportunity to play together.

"Let's do it, man," Brown said in the video.

Flash forward around four years, and after four terrific but up-and-down seasons together — including two Super Bowl appearances and one win — Brown is gone, traded to the Patriots after constant questions over whether his relationship with Hurts had deteriorated.

On Tuesday, in his first sit-down interview since the trade to New England, Brown opened up a bit more about his relationship with Hurts.

Here's what the now-former Eagle had to say about what happened between him and Hurts over his time in Philadelphia.

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A.J. Brown opens up about Jalen Hurts relationship following trade

For months, it's been clear that Brown was going to be traded to New England. Once that became official on Monday, however, he was quickly embraced by his new franchise, while the Eagles can officially move on.

To help put a button on his era with the Eagles, however, Brown had a sit-down interview with Maria Taylor with 7PM in Brooklyn.

He spoke about his time in Philadelphia and excitement to join his favorite childhood team, the Patriots, but also addressed a topic that has loomed for years: his relationship with Hurts.

The star receiver began by admitting that he and Hurts are "not as close as we once were," but said he still had "love" for the quarterback.

"There's no bad blood. There's actually is still a lot of love. I love him, I love him to death. I want him to succeed and accomplish all the things that he wants to accomplish. I didn't truly understand why our friendship became the center of everybody's attention when it came to football. Because looking back on it, we haven't been as close as we were for a couple years now, and that didn't stop anything," Brown said. "It is kind of strange, people just got so fixated on the relationship. ... I got nothing but love for him."

Brown continued by saying that nothing in specific altered the relationship with Hurts.

"Nothing happened, people just grow apart,” Brown said. “Nothing happened between me and him, or our families, wives, anything. Nothing like that ever happened. Life happens and you just look up sometimes and you just, you find yourself drifting away and that’s fine. And I think both parties accepted that.”

Especially during the 2025 season, with the Eagles' offense struggling and Brown being vocal about his desire to be more involved in the game plan, his relationship with Hurts was a major talking point — especially because the two had once been described as close friends.

By the 2024 season, the clearest sign yet of the fractured Brown-Hurts relationship came from another Eagle, Brandon Graham.

"They was friends before this, it's like, man. But things have changed," Graham said on a radio show. "And I understand that, because life happens. ... We need to be able to talk things out as men."

Despite many denials from both Brown and Hurts that their relationship had any impact on the team, it remained a significant storyline until the day Brown was finally traded.