A.J. Brown explains his motivation after another stellar season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
This is the time of year where we hear the same thing from a ton of players: They’re in the best shape of their lives.
But if you’ve seen any workout videos of A.J. Brown this offseason, you probably believe him.
“I think so,” Brown said this spring when asked the question a week ago. “There’s always stuff to improve on. I’m always trying to get better at that. I like to say, for myself, I can easily play five plays but being effective for those five plays is a deal breaker for me.”
The Eagles’ 26-year-old superstar receiver said he did change up his offseason workout plan a bit this year.
Brown didn’t want to divulge the specifics but he did explain his motivation.
“I always ask myself at the end of the season: Can I work harder? What else can I do?” Brown said. “Those are the questions I always ask myself and the answer is always yes.”
And the results have been impressive. Brown, who turns 27 later this month, appears to be in fantastic shape coming off back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in his two years since getting traded to the Eagles. Brown said that again this offseason he hit 23 mph during his training.
It’s pretty clear that Brown is a self-motivated player but the way last season ended for the Eagles — a collapse down the stretch — has served as another form of motivation this offseason.
“Not every loss is a loss. I don’t even like to say a loss is a loss,” Brown said. “It’s always a lesson. It’s always something to learn from. I feel like you better learn something from it or it’s going to return. I’m always going to have that mentality to put in the work, grind and put my best foot forward and attack each and every day moving forward. I can’t worry about the past, I can’t worry about yesterday. I’m here right now and that’s all I have. Today, practice, that’s all I’m granted with and that’s what I got to do and give it my all today.”
During rookie minicamp, head coach Nick Sirianni praised Brown and offensive tackle Jordan Mailata for showing up to be around the rookies. Brown explained why he was at the NovaCare Complex on a Friday afternoon during his offseason.
“First of all, man, I love football,” Brown said. “I was itching to get back. I wanted to be around the guys, if I can help somebody with something, I’ll do that. Just trying to be a good leader.”
In his first season with the Eagles in 2022, Brown caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns and followed it up with a 106/1,456/7 season in 2023. Those are the two best receiving seasons in Eagles history. So he’s off to a pretty good start.
Brown has been so good that this offseason he already signed a three-year, $96 million extension that won’t even kick in until the 2027 season. But that APY of $32 million ranks him second in the NFL and got a lot of money in his pocket quicker.
Over the last two seasons, Brown is third in the NFL in receiving yards behind just Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb. Here’s a look at the top five:
1. Tyreek Hill: 3,509
2. CeeDee Lamb: 3,108
3. A.J. Brown: 2,952
4. Justin Jefferson: 2,883
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown: 2,676
Brown was that successful in an offense that Sirianni admitted got “stale” toward the end of the 2023 season. While there might be some growing pains in 2024, the Eagles did bring in Kellen Moore to be their new offensive coordinator, a move they hope will refresh the offense.
During minicamp, fellow starting receiver DeVonta Smith said this offense gives receivers more freedom and Brown agreed.
Overall, the Eagles’ top receiver seems to like the direction the offense is going.
“I’m all ears,” Brown said. “Honestly, there was nothing that I was wanting to see or eager to see. I was excited to work with Kellen and to learn from him and see what he thinks and how he calls a game.”
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