A.J. Brown really had to explain he wasn’t getting traded to the Patriots after using a Tom Brady profile picture

Nov 5, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) after a victory against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Even after a disappointing 2023 Philadelphia Eagles season, A.J. Brown remains one of the NFL’s top receivers. From stretching defenses to getting yards after the catch on short passes, there is nothing this No. 1 playmaker can’t do — he even keeps receipts!

Brown showcased this by changing his Twitter profile picture to a photo of an excited Tom Brady during the 2015 New England Patriots season. Brown did this, thinking it would be a harmless gesture about a competitive mindset and where his head is in relation to any Eagles disrespect he’s seen this offseason.

Alas, dearest readers, he was so, so wrong.

As we all know, when you are a superstar professional athlete on any public platform, everyone on the internet speculates and talks about your every slight move almost to the point of obsession. (Well, sometimes on the obsession thought.) Unfortunately, this may as well be an unwritten “rule” in the clause of their contracts. So when Brown unveiled the Brady profile picture, fans online immediately thought this meant a shocking trade to the Patriots was underway.

How could they not? It’s the internet! If you can’t recklessly speculate and huff and puff online about a situation entirely out of your control, where can you?

We live in a society, people!

The Eagles’ star playmaker quickly quelled these concerns, maintaining that Brady was merely his favorite player growing up and that he was just trying to put himself in the mindset of a great player he felt was also doubted. At the same time, Brown noted that he couldn’t believe he actually had to explain that his social media appearance meant nothing about his Philadelphia future:

TB12 is my favorite player ever.
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
I Did not think changing my pfp to the greatest…

— AJ BROWN (@1kalwaysopen_) April 18, 2024

A good reminder here, everyone: Just because one of your favorite players did something “controversial” on social media, it does not mean the worst-case scenario is happening. Sometimes (most of the time?), it literally is what it is at face value.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: A.J. Brown really had to explain he wasn’t getting traded to the Patriots after using a Tom Brady profile picture