The Philadelphia Eagles legends don’t just fade away. Especially not when Philly Twitter is busy setting off alarms. Eagles wideout AJ Brown’s swipe at Seth Joyner sparked a wave that crashed into the city’s football soul. Following the heated headlines Brown created with his since-deleted comment, former defensive end Hugh Douglas has made his stance clear on the matter.

Brown wasn’t hiding his frustration after the Eagles won against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He fired off a cryptic “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” It was this post that drew criticism from former linebacker Seth Joyner. But in response to Joyner’s criticism, the wideout shared a heated comment calling him out: “The audacity of you telling someone to do their job. My stats every year backs up that I’m doing mine. How about you do your job and call out the bs but you won’t because they’re paying you so you have to play along and be a good boy. …” 

On the 94WIP Sports Radio, Douglas fired back at AJ for his comment on Joyner. “Seth Joyner was a tremendous player. – all those other guys that came before me, I understand wholeheartedly the path that they laid for me to be in this game… The things that A.J.’s benefitting from now, Seth and the guys that came before him paved the way. … You have to respect him for the contributions that he’s given to this game that only a handful of people have ever played.” The message was clear: every Philly player walks a road paved by legends. But that wasn’t all Douglas had to say.

For him, this wasn’t about social media drama. He noted, “So when you take a shot at Seth, you take a shot at all of us. … we’re reacting to everything that you do.” No punches pulled; snapping at a legend means crossing the line with all those who fought for Philly before. Douglas further added, “For you to have the audacity to sit there and call Seth a boy for pointing out his perspective about how you handled the situation because he works or somebody is ridiculous to me.” In his eyes, that kind of heat is a disrespect to Philly’s football heritage. 

This isn’t the first time emotions have clashed with winning streaks. The Eagles are 4-0, but Brown has been lobbying for an opportunity to make a bigger impact in the game. When asked about his post, Brown took full accountability in front of the media recently. “I let my frustrations boil over. … had a chance to correct my frustrations and I continued to let it boil over and that’s on me. I take full accountability on that.” Hugh Douglas doubled down on this as well, adding, “You had an opportunity yesterday to get everything that you had off your chest in front of the media, everybody. But just like a good little boy, you sat there and you didn’t say anything. And that’s a fact.”

AJ Brown’s 2025 campaign so far has only seen him make 14 receptions for 151 yards and a single touchdown. This drop in targets has frustrated Brown and caused him to demand more of the spotlight. Head coach Nick Sirianni understands this frustration and remains in his receiver’s corner.

Nick Sirianni on AJ Brown, and the road ahead

Coach Sirianni, in the post-game presser in week 4, made it clear he knows what AJ Brown wants. “Obviously, he wants the football. Obviously, he needs to get the football. To do the things that we want to do, he’s got to have the season that he’s had the last couple years, the last three years when he has been second-team All-Pro and went over a thousand yards every time.” But the Eagles have been focused on carving out wins through their ground game more than ever. That means fewer aerial dimes for Brown to haul in, even if quarterback Jalen Hurts targets him.

As Sirianni had further added, “I’m really proud of how he’s handled a slow start as far as stat-wise, but he’s doing the right things without it in his hands to help us find ways to win football games…” Sirianni had been incredibly supportive of Brown at the time. But following Brown’s comment on Joyner, and Douglas’ fiery criticism, will the team maintain the same level of openness?

Following the initial tweet where AJ Brown hinted he didn’t feel “welcome” in Philly, his teammates had already started mending the ship. As offensive tackle Jordan Mailata noted, “Have we addressed it as teammates? Yes, but we’re going to keep that in-house.” Will this translate to more targets for Brown moving forward? That question is still up in the air. But there are also rumors swirling around a trade that could send Brown away to an offense where he can make the impact he wants. Whatever happens, Brown will remain the center of this new storm for now.