Eagles

I Love That A.J. Brown is Trying to Pander to New England Fans With a Rug

By Matt Schultz

Published: Jun 2nd, 2026 · 1:33 PM EDT

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The Eagles traded A.J. Brown to New England on Monday afternoon, and the star receiver got right to work trying to pander to his new fanbase in an interview with Maria Taylor:

AJ Brown tells @MariaTaylor he has had a #Patriots rug in his house for a few years — even while he was with the Eagles.

"This is my team. This is my team since I was a kid. I was doing what I was supposed to be doing with the Eagles, but this is it."

(📽️ @7PMinBrooklyn) https://t.co/RTpJJ6bmae pic.twitter.com/MQz5mj4TYy

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 2, 2026

Transcribed:

TAYLOR: “When did we get this rug right here? Where’d this come from?”

BROWN: “Ah… It came from Amazon. But definitely a few years ago. It’s been here a while.” 

TAYLOR: “While you were an Eagle you had this rug in your house?”

BROWN: “Absolutely.

TAYLOR: You gotta tell me why.” 

BROWN: “You know, some things just never change. You know, this is, this is my team. This is my team since I was a kid, so. Ah… It didn’t matter… I was doing – I was supposed to be doing as an Eagle. But this is… this is it.”

Look, we all should’ve known some A.J. Brown pandering was coming. He’s been waiting a long time for this trade. He wants his new fanbase to be pumped he’s coming, and to show he’s excited, too.  And I’m sure he is! He’s probably feeling incredible today. We all know he’s leaving Philly under some weird circumstances. He clearly had some sort of problem with Jalen Hurts. He clearly had some beef with Nick Sirianni. He wasn’t happy here, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked out. And all that being the case, it’s par for the course for him to be amped on Tuesday, smiling ear to ear, and saying whatever it takes for his new New England fans to embrace him. 

And truthfully, I was prepared to get mad about it. I’d been hearing stuff about how A.J. was a lifelong Pats fan. I feared some “I always liked the Pats more than the Eagles” content was coming, and I was ready to feel hurt and betrayed by it, then lash out in anger to mask my true emotions… Call him some names… A “pussy-ass,” perhaps… But then I watched the video, and I feel way better. I can’t be mad at A.J. He’s bringing me too much joy: That was some of the worst pandering I’ve ever seen in my life. I love it. 

I love the idea of A.J. thinking this rug interview was going to be a grandslam.

I’m smiling huge right now imagining him planning this out weeks in advance: 

“What can I do to show the fans that I’m a real Pats head? I have endless amounts of money… no price is too high… How do I get them on my side, to show I’m one of them?

The answer is obvious. I need a rug. A smallish rug that I will get off Amazon. $25 max. The rug will say MAN CAVE. But when I do an interview with Maria Taylor about it, I will not be in any man cave. I will be in some production space for the interview. The only thing in the production space will be two white chairs, a table in the background with an interesting-shaped bowl holding what looks like popcorn, and my Patriots rug that says MAN CAVE beneath our feet. I’m going to bring the rug from my house to the production space. I’m going to lay it across the backseat and drive over there. I know I don’t have a man cave. That doesn’t matter. I’d still like to have a rug that says that. I still like those two words together. MAN CAVE. I like the image it conjures. I think the words will look cool in Patriots colors. And I know Pats fans will think that too. They will love me for my MAN CAVE rug. They will see I’m one of them. This is what real fans do. ‘Every single one of you have a rug exactly like this. Now, so do I…’”

 So damn good. Thank you, A.J., for leaving us this final gift.