On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles season came to an end with a 23-19 loss to the visiting San Francisco 49ers in front of 69,879 fans at Lincoln Financial Field.
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Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown had a heated moment with head coach Nick Sirianni during the first half. Sirianni appeared frustrated with Brown after the receiver dropped a pass on 3rd-and-9.
Per Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports, Sirianni told reporters after the game that the incident started because he was trying to get Brown off the field to bring on the punt team.
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“I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt. I love AJ,” Sirianni said.
Brown wasn’t a large factor in the passing attack on Sunday. He finished the game with three receptions for 25 yards. He had a couple of pivotal drops in the defeat.
Brown’s frustrations didn’t appear to go away after the game.
Per Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team, Brown declined to speak to the media after the loss.
“Eagles WR AJ Brown did not speak to the media after today’s loss to the 49ers,” Meirov posted on X.
Per NFL rules, all players must be available to talk to the media after games, unless that player is in the concussion protocol.
Sometimes the league decides to issue a fine, other times they let it slide. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce declined to speak to the media multiple times during the regular season. He received no fine from the NFL.
Former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch faced wrath for declining to speak to the media, claiming he was fined more than $1 million for not speaking to the media after games.
The league would prefer that fans hear what coaches and players have to say after games.
Those comments keep people tuned into their teams, which in turn generates more interest from fans and ultimately brings in money for teams that goes to pay large contracts, such as Brown’s.
While Brown didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk to reporters after a playoff loss, the winner of last year’s Super Bowl had to know media obligations are a part of his deal.
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