Eagles stars Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts confirmed they spoke with AJ Brown earlier this week but, despite Philadelphia’s recent offensive malaise, dismissed the idea that the meeting was controversial.
Both Barkley and Hurts discussed Tuesday’s meeting, two days after the defending Super Bowl champions suffered their first loss of the season. Barkley said the meeting, which took place on Monday, was a “good thing” and stressed that it was not a traditional players-only meeting where “all hell breaks loose.”
“I felt like this conversation was supposed to stay between us, but the focus was on the team, and I think that was a good thing,” the star running back told reporters. “I would definitely say it wasn’t like a players’ meeting.
“When you hear ‘players meeting,’ it’s like all hell broke loose. It wasn’t that at all. But also that we’re teammates, we’re all friends, we’re just having a conversation.”
Sunday’s 21-17 home loss to the Denver Broncos marked the final disappointing performance for Brown, who finished with five catches for just 43 yards. The three-time Pro Bowl receiver was targeted eight times by Hurts, but failed to eclipse 50 yards for the fourth time in five games this season.
Barkley also had minimal impact, rushing for 30 yards on just six carries — his lowest total in a single game since the 2021 season. The reigning Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year said repeatedly Tuesday that he wished the meeting hadn’t become a talking point.
“Personally, I wish it wasn’t available, to be honest,” Barkley said. “But people saw us having a conversation, and they came out. I don’t think we need to do too much. … I mean, we have conversations all the time.
“In this case, it was all three of us. But I talk to (DeVonta Smith), (Smith) talks to AJ and Lane (Johnson) talks to Jordan (Mailata). We should all talk, you know what I mean? But I know people are going to try to make it more than what it is, but that’s not it. And I really don’t want to talk about it too much.”
Hurts also downplayed the encounter, saying it was “really just teammates being teammates.”
“It’s just about talking about the collective, taking ownership of what we can and talking about how we move forward as a team to continue to find ways to win games,” Hurts said.
Despite their star-studded offense that sent four players to last season’s Pro Bowl, the Eagles enter Week 6 with the 30th-ranked offense in the NFL. Philadelphia is also just 31st in the league in passing offense.
“I love that we’re all coming together and looking for solutions to continue to improve,” coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday. “It’s not just about the coach, it’s not just about a leader of the football team, it’s this team. It’s the mindset of this team, how can we continue to improve, play our best football between now and the end of the year? And so, you love it.”
Brown was not in the Eagles locker room Tuesday during the time players spoke to reporters. Both Barkley and Hurts indicated they were happy the Eagles face a quick turnaround this week with Thursday night’s road game against the New York Giants.
Barkley, who spent the first six years of his career in New York, said the Eagles are “mainly focused on the Giants,” while Hurts added, “Thank God it’s a short week.”
