“There’s no surprise that it was talked about,” Jalen Hurts said when asked about the public discussion around his rift with wide receiver A.J. Brown. The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback acknowledged that the duo had “clearly” grown apart over time. Hearing that, Eagles Hall of Famer LeSean McCoy shared his two cents.

“Duh, they didn’t like each other. It’s simple,” McCoy said on the Speakeasy Podcast. “They was cool, right? It was cool to high-five and doing dances, throwing touchdowns. When the touchdown stop the friendship stop, you know, and I won’t get into the deep conversations of the brothers [or] what they got going on.

“But it’s obvious that we’re not the same. And that’s okay too. Sometimes you play this game with some of your teammates, and you become friends and then things happen, and then you go separate.”

Although LeSean McCoy hasn’t experienced anything similar with his former Philadelphia Eagles teammates, having spent 12 seasons in the league, he noted that fallout like the one between Hurts and Brown is quite common.

But in this case, the reason their fallout drew so much attention was that Hurts and Brown were once famously compared to a “married couple.” Not literally, but because of how close they were with each other as teammates. However, their friendship turned tumultuous during the 2025 season, following their Super Bowl triumph in the 2024 season.

Brown’s on-field body language and public complaints on social media created an undeniable chasm.

First off, the star wide receiver was highly critical of how he was being used in the offense, which resulted in his lowest statistical output (1,003 receiving yards) of his four seasons in Philadelphia. Secondly, Brown reportedly felt that his QB (Hurts) overlooked him on multiple occasions.

As teammates, Hurts and Brown have made four playoff appearances, won two NFC Championships, and won Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet, when Hurts was missing the veteran WR on plays, it frustrated him. As a result, Brown even reportedly requested a trade away from the Eagles mid 2025 season.

On June 1, A.J. Brown officially joined the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick. This move reunites him with his former Tennessee Titans and current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

Following this move, the conversation surrounding Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown’s soured friendship resurfaced. And during a discussion with NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor (aired on June 2, 2026), Brown revealed what went wrong in their friendship.

“Nothing happened, people just grow apart,” Brown clarified. “Nothing happened between me and him, or ‌our families, ⁠wives, anything. Nothing like that ever happened. Life happens, and you just look up sometimes and you just, you find yourself drifting away, and that’s fine. And I think both parties accepted that.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by the Eagles QB as well when he was asked if he and Brown grew apart.

“I mean, clearly,” Hurts told GQ magazine on Tuesday.