Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) reacts after making a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke
During an appearance on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast, A.J. Brown was asked a simple question.
"What does grit mean to you?"
Brown's interview was part of a yearly bit from PMT, where they visit different training camps and interview high-profile NFL figures for what they call "Grit Week." Every interview starts off with that question.
"Times late in the season, especially when your body doesn't want to respond the way you want it to," Brown said. "You just keep going, just find a way to get through. Believe it or not, those are some of my best days, really."
Co-host PFT Commenter then asked Brown to give an example of that.
"(I was) playing hurt the back half of the season, getting my knee drained twice a week," Brown said. "Getting my knee drained before the game, watching the game, go out there, have a good performance, then the following week, the following week, ending with the Super Bowl.
Brown's answer certainly an eyebrow-raiser. Come playoff time, it's hard to find anyone in the league that's 100% healthy. But Brown getting his knee drained twice a week is news to everyone.
The wide receiver missed three games early in the season with a hamstring injury. Sometimes he'd miss practice with a knee injury, but the severity was never reported in any detail.
It's hard to pinpoint when Brown could've been injured. Across the Eagles' final five regular season games, he only had one 100-yard receiving game, so maybe it started around December. Brown didn't go into any details of when he started dealing with knee pain during the interview.
Across four games in the playoffs, Brown totaled just 163 receiving yards. He never showed any signs he was hampered by an injury, but the numbers might point to that.
Brown said the knee issues are gone. However, he's been dealing with a hamstring issue that has kept him out of practice since last Friday.
"The past two days were tough," Brown said. "Nick always says it takes what it takes. I was joking with him and saying that it's gonna take all of us out at this rate."
Brown's hamstring issue doesn't look like a long-term injury. Soft tissue injuries can flare up if not rested enough, so the Eagles are likely being cautious.
It's the smart thing to do, considering Brown's important to the Eagles. He's a dominant force, who despite a slight reduction in his numbers last year, has recorded 4,031 receiving yards with the Eagles over the past three seasons.
After starting his career with the Tennessee Titans, Brown has taken his game to another level after the Eagles traded a first-round pick for him in 2022.
"I'm grateful it happened," Brown said of the trade. "...I feel like I was meant to shine and we needed a big team with a big market and this is the right place."
Brown admitted he was a little sad for Treylon Burks — the receiver the Titans took with the Eagles pick — who was cut by Tennesse after failing to produce even a fraction of Brown's output.
It was always an unfair comparison for Burks. When healthy, Brown is one of the best receivers in the NFL. He's a physically-dominant receiver who can take over games in ways the Eagles haven't seen since Terrell Owens.
If Brown can stay healthy, he'll go down as one of the Eagles' best receivers in franchise history. But as he showed in last year's playoffs, he can play through the pain.
