If You Think A.J. Brown’s Injury Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test, Take Another Whiff
Philadelphia Eagles wide recevier A.J. Brown didn’t practice all week. The hamstring that suddenly “tightened up” after his 121-yard, two-touchdown demolition of the Minnesota Vikings instantly became Philadelphia’s favorite conspiracy. Was it legit? Or was it the latest chapter in a star wideout’s soap opera of touches, targets, and tweets?
If you think it doesn’t pass the smell test, take another whiff because this one’s got more layers than drama.
The Facts, Straight From the Source
The Philadelphia Eagles officially ruled out Brown for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup with the New York Giants. The decision capped a week of speculation after he logged three straight Did Not Practice designations.
Head coach Nick Sirianni left the door slightly open before the final walkthrough:
“Everybody has different scenarios. A lot of our guys — just because they’re locked into the details and the game plan and the way they go about walkthroughs and meetings — I definitely think he’s a guy who could [play without practicing].”
But after practice and the injury report on Friday, the team confirmed: Brown will be out, alongside Adoree’ Jackson, Cam Jurgens, Azeez Ojulari, Brandon Graham and Jakorian Bennett.
That means DeVonta Smith becomes the clear WR1 after posting nine catches for 183 yards and a touchdown last week. Jahan Dotson slides into the No. 2 role, while John Metchie III and Xavier Gipson round out the depth. Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley figure for heavier workloads as well — especially after Barkley saw just 12 carries for 58 yards in the last Eagles-Giants meeting.
Despite the reshuffle, Jalen Hurts is humming: 280 + passing yards in his last three games (283 of them against the Giants two weeks ago). The offense will still move, but it won’t look quite the same without No. 11.
The Smell Test: Reality Over Rumor
So is Brown really hurt? Let’s sift through the noise.
- The timeline checks out. Hamstring tightness often flares 24-48 hours after high-output games. Brown’s Viking wrokload – deep cross-overs, hard slants, sluggos and 20-plus yard sprints is textbook soft-tissue strain territory.
- The team’s behavior screams caution, not cover-up. If this were a smokescreen, the Eagles would have listed him questionable and milked the mystery. Instead, they ruled him out Friday which is classic load-management logic for December-January preservation.
- The player’s pattern fits. Brown vents online, then produces on Sundays. He’s emotional, yes but never unreliable.
“Using Me But Not Using Me” – The Line That Lit the Fuse
After the Vikings game, Brown posted six words to Instagram/X:
“Using me but not using me.”
It went nuclear in minutes. The cryptic phrasing, the timing after a monster game — it was vintage Brown: a truth-bomb disguised as a puzzle.
But this isn’t new behavior. Earlier this season, after a lackluster outing vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he posted a biblical quote:
“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
A few days later he clarified:
“First off, I want to start off by saying, obviously, Sunday after the game I let my frustrations boil over… My message on Twitter wasn’t directed at anyone in the building — not my coaches, not my quarterback, my GM, nobody. I take full accountability.”
Let’s call it what it is. He’s an elite wide receiver and by defintion that makes him a diva. And?? What’s the problemo? Like I said, he’s an elite wide receiver. Brown can take over a game at any time and he knows this. He wants to dominate his opponent. He has a gift and wants to flaunt it. Can you blame him? And every time he does dominate his opponent his team wins 90% of the time. The formula is simple so it’s best to keep it that way. Brown puts a lot of pressure on himself. The postgame messages are just him displacing the pressure he puts on himself to his team because he expects his team to utilize him properly.
Andrew Hawkins: “The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Oil”
Former Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins, now an analyst on Get Up, broke it down perfectly:
“My agent used to tell me all the time — the squeaky wheel gets the oil. If you don’t let your coaches know how you feel, they won’t know you need the ball.”
It’s the unwritten rule of receiver psychology. Speak up → get schemed up. From Terrell Owens to Stefon Diggs to Justin Jefferson, the best wideouts don’t suppress emotion — they weaponize it. Brown’s posts fit right into that lineage.
Taylor Lewan Adds Gas to the Fire
According to Hawkins, Brown’s former Titans teammate Taylor Lewan, who is also an analyst on Get Up, also weighed in, saying that Lewan called Brown “the most selfish teammate I’ve ever played with.”
After Hawkins said that Lewan could be heard off camera chucking loudly at the comment.
Whether tongue-in-cheek or not, in NFL terms “selfish” often means hyper-competitive. The kind of “I want the ball” selfish and in Philadelphia as well as the NFL, that’s not a flaw. that’s a virtue.
What’s Actually Going On
Two truths can coexist:
- Brown is legitimately managing a hamstring injury. The Eagles’ sports-science department is among the league’s most conservative when it comes to soft-tissue risk.
- He’s also sending a message. Not about money or loyalty — about involvement. “Using me but not using me” isn’t a trade hint; it’s a strategic prod.
The Eagles know it, too. Expect Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to make Brown feel like a co-author of the game plan once he’s cleared.
Conclusion
The evidence from the medical timeline to Sirianni’s transparency to Brown’s own track record all points toward prudence, not protest.
He’s not faking it. He’s too fiery and competitive for that. Besides theres a financial angle to all of his discontentment. Brown’s contract with the Eagles isn’t up until the end of the 2029 season but if at some point he wants a new deal or gets traded and wants a new deal with his new team, its hard to sit at the negotiating table and make your case that your former team didn’t utilize you properly but nyou still want to be compensated like a top-3 receiver in the league. That’s not how it works in the NFL. Your numbers make your argument and feigning an injury and missing a game intentionally doesn’t jibe with what A.J. Brown really desires long term. Besides, he’s too competitive to sit one out for no particular reason, at least not one that will advance his cause.
He’s not a problem unless you make it a problem. He’s proof that passion still drives production.
And once that hamstring loosens up, A.J. Brown will be back doing what he does best, setting fires, silencing his nay-sayers, and reminding the NFL and his own team that he’s still one of the most dangerous offensive weapons on the planet.
Nico Hoerner And Cubs Claim Prestigious Defensive Awards
The Chicago Cubs had one of the finest defensive seasons in Major League Baseball in 2025. In the eyes of one publication, they were the best.
The Fielding Bible has been presenting awards for the league’s top defensive players for the past 20 years. In 2023, the publication added a defensive player of the year. This season, it added a defensive team of the year. The Cubs earned the team award, while second baseman Nico Hoerner was also selected for a position award.
The Cubs reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020 by claiming a National League wild card berth. They defeated the San Diego Padres in the wild card round before losing a five-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers in the division series. The Brewers went on to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
In winning the site’s first team-based award, the Fielding Bible pointed out that the Cubs had 84 total defensive runs saved. The only team better in the category was the Texas Rangers at 89. The Rangers set a Major League record for fielding percentage in a season.
In giving the award to the Cubs, Fielding Bible’s editorial lead Mark Simon wrote that Chicago was the only team with a positive DRS from eight of its nine defensive positions. Right field was the only one not in the positive.
That included Hoerner, who led all second basemen in DRS. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, was second in DRS at his position. Left field Ian Happ and starting pitcher Matthew Boyd were third in DRS at their positions while third baseman Matt Shaw was fourth.
That balance won out over the Rangers’ historic fielding percentage and league-leading DRS.
"Cubs management built a team that prides itself in defensive excellence and that showed up all over the field," Simon wrote. "They were especially strong up the middle and at some of the game's most important positions.”
Not surprisingly, six Cubs are finalists for National League Gold Gloves, with the awards to be announced next month. Chicago finalists include Hoerner, Shaw, Happ, Boyd, Crow-Armstrong and catcher Carson Kelly,
In selecting Hoerner, he became the second Cubs second baseman to win the award, along with Darwin Barney in 2012. Hoerner had 17 DRS to lead all second baseman and charged an MLB-best 15 plays saved better than the average second baseman on balls hit to his right, per Fielding Bible.
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