Jason Kelce has a very clear presence in the Philadelphia Eagles’ facility even after his retirement. It’s understandable, given that he spent his entire 13-year career with the team. He’s also nothing short of a legend in the City of Brotherly Love. Recently, the future Hall of Famer talked about the club’s polarizing wideout, A.J. Brown, and how his lack of effort this past year frustrated him at times while watching.
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Drama surrounded Brown throughout this past year’s campaign. He cited being frustrated with his production and performance several times. But he also spoke about the offense as a whole and how it was failing to do its job, particularly when it came to getting him the ball.
For Kelce, he sensed a lack of effort from Brown this season, which frustrated him.
“When you see a teammate not go all out, like that’s all you want from your teammates. It’s all we want as fans, and it’s a really hard thing to optically watch. It’s frustrating to watch. Few things are infuriating more when that’s optically apparent,” Kelce told Sports Radio 94 WIP.
If you watched Brown last year, you could see exactly what Kelce was talking about. There were times when he appeared to coast on plays when he wasn’t getting the ball. To make matters worse, his best stretch of play came during a three-game losing streak, suggesting that getting him the ball wasn’t necessarily helping the team win.
This drama could’ve affected the Eagles as a team. But according to Kelce, the team likes Brown a lot and defended their player throughout the year.
“The reality is, most of the words that come out of that building from players, from coaches, from [anybody], everybody loves A.J. Brown. And you can tell when a lot of times people are just feeding you bull crap or whatnot. There’s a genuine appreciation for A.J.,” Kelce revealed.
Jason Kelce on a perceived lack of effort from A.J. Brown this season:
“He’s just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse.” pic.twitter.com/tsQxzKH1np
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) February 12, 2026
It might be a surprising revelation for some. But it’s the truth. At the end of the day, the Eagles know that Brown is a superstar who can dominate games. He’s been with them for four seasons, too, has topped 1,000 receiving yards every year, and has now helped them get to two Super Bowls. He even caught a TD in both games.
So, don’t expect Philly to part ways with Brown anytime soon. He’s entering the final year of an extension and has already expressed his desire to stay. That doesn’t mean that the team won’t jump at a trade offer if the price is right, though. After all, they still have DeVonta Smith, who’s topped 1,000 receiving yards in three out of five years in his career.
