Jalen Hurts confirmed in a GQ interview published Tuesday that he and Brown grew apart during their final season together in Philadelphia, offering a direct answer after being pressed twice.
He initially said there was no surprise that it had been talked about. Asked again directly, he confirmed it.
The confirmation from Hurts follows what Brown said in June on a podcast hosted by Carmelo Anthony. Brown said nothing happened between him and Hurts, or between their families. He said life happens and you find yourself drifting away, and that both parties had accepted it.
Brown was traded to the New England Patriots in June. He told reporters last month during joint practices between the Eagles and Patriots in Foxborough that the two had not spoken since the trade. Despite that, the two were seen having a brief conversation the following day at the second joint practice session between the teams.
The depth of what they once had
The distance between them stands out because of how close they once were. Hurts hosted Brown on a recruiting visit when he was at Alabama. They worked out together in the offseason throughout their time in Philadelphia. Hurts became the godfather to Brown’s daughter.
They produced four productive seasons together in Philadelphia. Back-to-back campaigns with more than 1,400 receiving yards and a Super Bowl championship after the 2024 season defined what that partnership produced.
How the relationship frayed
The receiver expressed frustration with his role in the Eagles‘ offense during the 2025 season, finishing with 1,003 receiving yards, his lowest total in four seasons. He made his unhappiness known on social media and in interviews.
General manager Howie Roseman said the receiver had expressed a desire for a change of scenery. Sources told that Hurts was part of those frustrations, rooted in part in a belief that he was not being targeted as often as he should be against zone coverage.
He eventually got his trade request granted, leaving for New England in June.
What both men said publicly
During the first joint practice last month, the receiver said none of the stuff about their relationship matters and suggested that reporters should be looking for positive things to report, noting that asking the question was going to turn things negative.
He said last month that he has a lot of love for the receiver and always has. Hurts’s GQ comments, when pressed directly, added a single word that acknowledged what Brown had described months earlier.
The two are now on opposite sides of a conference. Whether their relationship eventually finds its way back to something closer is an open question both men have been careful not to close off entirely.
