AJ Brown has nothing to say after making Super Bowl, but his play since leaving Titans speaks loudly

PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown had just finished a livestream on Instagram. Charred pieces of a cigar were piled on the seat of a chair inside his locker stall, and the smoke that clouded the locker room had slowly begun to dissipate. He first pulled on a tan Balmain sweater, followed by one diamond chain, a pair of black sunglasses and then another — even larger — diamond chain.

Tossing three pairs of gloves and a few other personal items into a leather satchel, Brown made a quick exit. He didn’t stick around to answer questions.

Though he recorded an uncharacteristic four catches for just 28 yards in the Eagles’ 31-7 win over San Francisco in the NFC Championship on Sunday, Brown was Philadelphia’s leading receiver during the regular season and has been integral in their pursuit of a Super Bowl.

According to his fellow Philadelphia Eagles, the former Tennessee Titans wide receiver doesn’t need to answer questions. His attitude on the field speaks for itself.

“He’s not like those superstars who just don't want to do anything until game day: He's out there with us grinding while we’re hurting and he’s hurting,” said fellow Eagles wide receiver Zach Pascal. “You love guys like that, that's willing to go that far to put the team first.”

The Titans traded Brown to the Eagles on April 28 for the Nos. 18 and 101 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. In the nine months since then, Brown established himself not only as a top receiver on the team, but as the workhorse in the Eagles’ wide receiver room.

“He works hard every day (and) grinds it out like everybody else,” said Pascal, who arrived in Philadelphia this season in a trade from Indianapolis.

“He comes and he sets the tone for everybody,” said Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith. “I feel like he’s the leader of our group. I mean, he comes out and demands everybody to go out and give their best.”

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Not wanting to talk after a game, however, isn’t usually Brown’s calling card. Since his trade to the Eagles, Brown has had a number of choice words for his former team.

Ahead of a December matchup against the Titans, Brown told the media that he “won” the trade: A four-year, $100 million contract was exactly what he was looking for.

“Me personally, I feel like I won,” Brown said on Nov. 30. “I say that because I changed my family’s life forever.”

He also noted that he initially had “mixed emotions,” but that he came to peace with the trade. Still, when Brown scored two touchdowns against the Titans in a 35-10 win for the Eagles, he didn’t hold back in front of the media.

"Today, I’m going to have to give you (the Titans) this whooping," Brown said about postgame. "But I still love you though."

Despite a middling performance in Sunday’s NFC Championship, Brown’s Super Bowl berth is a reminder of what could have been for the Titans, who missed out on the playoffs this season for the first time since 2018.

In nine months with the Eagles, Brown has doubled the number of receiving yards and touchdowns he finished with in his last season as a Titan.

He’s also been busy imparting his mentality onto the rest of Philadelphia’s wide receiver room. According to Pascal, Brown’s main approach to adversity is to say: “(Expletive) it, we ball.”

“That next-play mentality — just continue to be you,” Pascal said. “Always believe in yourself and who you are.”

As much as Pascal respects Brown’s game, however, he also wants to keep him humble. Brown is a valuable piece of the offense, Pascal said, but he doesn’t want to tell Brown that too often — it just might go to his head.

Though his jet-black sunglasses, designer clothes and hefty diamond chains may tell the story of a diva or a “superstar,” as Pascal noted, Brown is the opposite on the field. In fact, he’s a model teammate. “Ever since I met him he's been nothing but a great dude, nothing but a great guy,” Pascal said. “I’m not going to lie − I love being his teammate.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: AJ Brown silent after making Super Bowl but Titans fans hear his play