Nick Sirianni has always been grateful for the abundance of talent on the team he was hired to coach. There are some players on the Philadelphia Eagles, though, who leave him a little more thankful than others.
“I thought I would never say this, but (last) week A.J. (Brown) was having an unbelievable practice,” Sirianni said. “And I went up to Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie (the Eagles owner) — and there’s no way I ever thought this would come out of my mouth — I go ‘Thanks for the 100 million dollars to pay A.J. Brown. I really appreciate that.'”
That might go down as one of the best $100 million investments Lurie has ever made, shortly after the Eagles sent first- and third-round picks to the Tennessee Titans in a deal for the star receiver during the 2022 NFL Draft. Part of the deal included giving Brown a four-year, $100 million contract with $56.5 million guaranteed — a stunning investment considering one year earlier the Eagles had traded up in the draft for receiver DeVonta Smith.
But the payoff has been enormous. Brown caught 88 passes for a franchise-record 1,436 yards last season and 11 touchdowns. And he’s on a pace to obliterate those numbers this season. Through five weeks, he’s been on a historic tear, with 41 catches for 701 yards and three touchdowns. With his 10-catch, 137-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, he’s now topped 125 receiving yards in five straight games, tying the NFL record set by two former Detroit Lions receivers — Pat Studstill (1966) and Calvin Johnson (2012).
