FOXBOROUGH - Standing ovation for Mike Vrabel and Nick Sirianni. The two head coaches understood the assignment to start Wednesday’s joint practice between the Patriots and Eagles. They gave the 12,000-plus fans in attendance and more media than anyone ever needs to have congregated in such a small area exactly what they came for: a one-on-one rep between A.J. Brown and All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell.
Mitchell lined up in press coverage but took a step back at the snap, allowing Brown to utilize a stutter-step before he released vertically, attacking Mitchell’s outside shoulder. Brown appeared to have a little more explosion than we’ve seen in camp, gaining the advantage within 10 yards. The third-year cornerback didn’t allow that gap to widen, staying glued to Brown’s inside hip. There was some tugging from Mitchell, but there was still enough room for Drake Maye to drop the ball over the wideout’s shoulder and into his left hand. However, Brown could not complete the catch, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
"Q got away with a little holding,” Brown said after practice. “I won; he pulled himself back into the play, and I just have to finish the play. My right hand didn't get to the ball quick enough. My left hand got on the ball. That's on me. Attention to detail - catching the ball high, not letting it get low.
"... It's never about who I'm going against; it's the little things. That could have been a 40-yard bomb, but now it's a long foul ball. Those are the things I'm focusing on."
For the stat keepers, Brown would go on to have his most productive days during 11-on-11s, catching four passes from Maye (there might have been a few more, but there were sacks/pressure/penalties that negated them). The majority of those came on slants and crossing routes, which have been the duo’s bread-and-butter through these nearly three weeks of the summer. Yes, you’d like to see more down the field - there have been a couple - but this relationship remains a work-in-progress.
“We're definitely in a good spot right now. We're going to continue to keep building…” Brown said, adding that Maye is, “very special. He has a lot of arm talent. He can place the ball anywhere.”
It was not hard to take Brown’s words about his new quarterback and contrast that with how he grew to feel about his old passer, Jalen Hurts, especially with the Philadelphia media getting their first crack at talking to Brown since the trade. The questions came fast and furious, and while Brown did his best to be polite and non-controversial, it was telling that he admitted he and Hurts had not spoken in the two-and-a-half months since the trade. In fact, all he could muster was a single word, “No.”
That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Brown vocalized his dissatisfaction with the offense numerous times over his final two seasons in Philly, and while he did say if the two men crossed paths this week, they would speak - “Yeah, sure,” he said - it was clear Brown is, at least for the moment, intent on putting the past in the rear-view mirror.
“I'm here now,” he said when asked about why he wanted to leave the Eagles. “I'm not going backward.”
The Pats front office and Vrabel made a substantial bet that the soon-to-be 29-year-old Brown is still a force against man-to-man coverage, and someone who will command extra attention from opposing defenses. Why else would they give up a first- and fifth-round pick and know full well there’s going to need to be a major contract readjustment for the 2027 season?
At least one of his former teammates was impressed with what he saw on Wednesday.
“Looked a little better,” Mitchell said. “Looked a little faster. Like I said, he's a great receiver.”
Brown has insisted he’s still that guy - and can point to going over a thousand yards in each of the last two seasons with a broken passing attack and, in the minds of many, a broken quarterback as evidence that, actually, his skill is not declining. With the blossoming Maye and an offensive coordinator who will play up to his strengths, there are no real excuses, though Brown would make no public proclamations about his future production.
“I can't tell the future. I'm not trying to,” he calmly insisted. “All I have is today. I can't even get today back. I'm done, and all I have is tomorrow. So I'm focused on one day at a time, and that's the only thing I'm worried about.”
That’s why he eventually - politely, I might add - shut down questions about the trade, the reasons for it, and his feelings for all those involved. He wouldn’t even call this matchup, present versus the past, as one that gave him any closure.
“It's love, you know. I won a Super Bowl ring with them, and it's always be love, no matter how anyone feels. You know, I love Philly, and I will always love Philly. But I'm here now, and that's where my feet are, and that's where I'm focused.”