Eagles star A.J. Brown sparked trade rumors on Thursday when he changed his profile picture on social media to Tom Brady – but the receiver said afterwards that he was merely paying homage to the ‘greatest ever.’
Fans noticed that Brown’s profile pictures on X and Instagram had been changed to a picture of Brady on the Patriots, in which the quarterback is yelling.
And while some took the switch to mean Brown could be on the move, he quickly shot down the notion that he would be leaving Philly.
‘TB12 is my favorite player ever,’ he wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
‘I watch the dynasty and it brought back some memories from my childhood. Go look up what he did in 2015 when he was doubted/disrespected. Yeah I see the disrespect. Motivated … yes. That’s it.’
A.J. Brown said he was honoring his ‘favorite player’ in changing his picture to Tom Brady
Brady played for 22 seasons in the NFL, spending 19 of them with the New England Patriots
‘I did not think changing my pfp to the greatest ever would cause controversy. Take Care.’
‘The Dynasty’ is a recently-released Apple TV documentary that chronicles the success of the Patriots.
While Brown doesn’t seem to be on the move, it wasn’t completely unfounded to buy into the trade rumors.
In a 2020 episode of Bussin’ with the Boys, he called himself a ‘big Patriots fan’ and said he ‘cried his eyes out’ when the team didn’t select him in the 2019 Draft, as noted by the New York Post.
Brown had a strong individual season but the Eagles fell in the first round of the playoffs
Additionally, Brown appeared to recently follow both Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett and receiver KJ Osborn on Instagram.
The Eagles will not want to lose Brown after he posted 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
And according to reporter Albert Breer, Philly has shut down any inquiries for the Pro Bowl receiver they’ve received this offseason.
Brady, meanwhile, has recently been teasing a potential return to the field following his second retirement.
