Former Eagle A.J. Brown reacts after Patriots' joint practice with Philadelphia: "I'm not looking in the past"
New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown got a chance to face his former team on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Eagles were in town for the first of two joint practices leading up to Saturday night's preseason game at Gillette Stadium.
Brown was put to the test right away, going against star Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell for a one-on-one drill. Drake Maye hit Brown in the hands on a long pass after Brown won off the line, but couldn't haul the pass in.
After practice, Brown joked that Mitchell got away with holding.
"I won and he pulled himself back in the play. I just gotta finish the play," Brown said. "It's the little things. That could have been a 40-yard bomb. Now it's a long foul ball. So those are the things I'm focused on, and just getting better every day."
Brown bounced back, having a strong day as he connected with Maye several times throughout the practice.
Brown's tenure in Philadelphia came to a tumultuous end. The wide receiver drew a big crowd of reporters following practice, fielding plenty of questions about how things ended before he was traded to the Patriots.
"It's not about no closure or anything. It's love. I won a Super Bowl ring with them. It'll always be love, no matter how anyone feels," Brown said. "I love Philly and I will always love Philly. But I'm here now, and that's where my feet are, that's what I'm focused on."
Before he was traded, there were indications that Brown's relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts had soured. On Wednesday, Brown said he hasn't spoken with Hurts since the trade.
After a series of questions about the Eagles, Brown was asked about how his Philadelphia career ended with a disappointing loss in the playoffs.
"I'm not looking in the past," Brown said. "I'm not going backwards. It doesn't exist. That's the last question I'm going to answer on the past."
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked what difference he's seen in Brown since he arrived in Foxboro. Vrabel coached Brown previously with the Tennessee Titans.
"It's funny, just not being around him day-to-day for whatever years it was from Tennessee to Philly, now here. Just an overall maturity, the way that he communicates with coaches, the way he communicates with players," Vrabel said. "It's just, I would say, an overall maturity. So, he's accountable. He gets mistakes corrected. You can coach him hard … He wants to do well for the entire offense, and he wants to be a contributor."
Vrabel was asked before practice if it would be an emotional session for Brown and defensive tackle Milton Williams, who joined the Patriots last year after starting his career with the Eagles.
"I'm sure there are some added feelings for them, but I'm not going to try to explain what those are. Those are their feelings, and again, they're part of our team. We're really excited to have both of those guys," Vrabel said. "They've practiced hard, whether it was against us or against the Colts. I'm sure we'll see great efforts from both of them today against the Eagles."